Economic conditions aren’t the best, but a spokesman for the Department of Economic Development says a positive trend is developing.
It’s an odd pairing; an unemployment rate that rises a tenth of a percent to 6.5% in Missouri even as the state produced more than 5,000 jobs in October, the third straight month of job growth.
Spence Jackson with the Department of Economic Development says the job growth occurred in government, health care and durable goods manufacturing. Jackson says the retail sector lost jobs. Jackson says that is particularly worrisome, because retailers normally begin adding jobs in October in anticipation of the Christmas shopping season.
Jackson says Missouri could be even more battered by the prevailing economic winds if it weren’t for the state’s healthy economic mix.
Jackson says it appears certain the state will continue to lose jobs in the auto industry. The financial sector is a weakspot. He believes the business climate in Missouri is right for growth in manufacturing, technology and health care.