Missouri’s unemployment reached its second-lowest level since 1976, the Missouri Department of Economic Development said Thursday.
Statewide, the unemployment rate dropped from 3.2 percent in September to 3.1 percent in October, the DED said in a news release. Since 1976, the only time Missouri’s unemployment rate sank this low was between October 1999 and January 2000. The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged in October at 3.7 percent.
Overall the state’s non-farm payroll grew by 4,000 jobs in October, the DED said in a news release. The biggest gains came in the accommodation and food-services industry, which added 2,500 jobs, the DED said.
Health care and social assistance fields each added 1,600 jobs. Manufacturing industries added 800 jobs.
Since October 2017, non-farm employers have added 44,600 jobs in Missouri, the DED said.