Missouri adds jobs as economy recovers from pandemic

Missouri has recovered 91-percent of the jobs it lost since shutting in the spring of 2020, according to a report released by the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
According to the report, Missouri added 9,100 jobs in January of 2022, for a total of 325,400 jobs recovered since the pandemic lockdown. The state lost 357,200 jobs in March and April of 2020 when restrictions were imposed on work and travel statewide to slow the spread of COVID-19. The biggest job gains, according to the report, were when the state recovered 22,000 jobs in March of 2021, 35,800 jobs in July of 2021 and 18,200 jobs in December of 2021.
The fields where the most job growth was seen between December and January were professional and business services, which added 6,700 jobs, and manufacturing, which added 3,000 jobs. However, some industries lost jobs in the same time period. Construction saw a drop of 1,000 jobs, the transportation, warehousing and utilities industry lost 1,300 jobs, and the financial activities sector saw a reduction of 1,400 jobs.
In the last two years, Missouri has also seen unemployment fall dramatically. In the spring of 2020, unemployment spiked in growth to about 11.75-percent; as of January, it was down to 3.8-percent. Unemployment fell from 120,125 people in December to 118,052 in January.
Despite the growth, some Missouri industries still had fewer people employed in January than they did in February of 2020. The educational and health services field had 18,700 fewer jobs than it did prior to the pandemic lockdown, as did the leisure and hospitality sector, which had 18,400 fewer jobs. There were also 8,800 fewer local government jobs, and 4,400 fewer state jobs.
The Mo. Department of Economic Development also reported that the Missouri Business Conditions Index for Missouri manufacturers remained strong at 68.5, adding that any index score above 50 indicates a belief that a business will be expanding in the next three to six months.

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More information on the Missouri economy can be viewed at the Missouri Economic and Research Center’s website at www.meric.mo.gov and the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s website at www.ded.mo.gov.