State jobless rate creeps up

The state's unemployment edged up a tenth of a point to 6.8 percent in May, according to data released by the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED).

In comparison, the U.S. seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for May stood at 7.6 percent. This is the 45th consecutive month Missouri's rate was lower than the national unemployment rate.

Missouri added 4,600 jobs in May.

The construction industry saw the biggest gain in jobs, adding more than 3,600 new jobs. The finance and insurance, administrative and waste management services, and arts, entertainment and recreation industries also saw job gains in May.

In addition, a number of corporations and businesses announced major expansions in Missouri during the month of May, led by Reinsurance Group of America (300 new jobs created, $140 million capital investment in Chesterfield), Ford (adding a third shift, equaling to 900 additional jobs in Kansas City), and Express Scripts (100 new jobs created, $960,000 in capital investment in Joplin). Yesterday, Boeing announced plans to open an information technology center, bringing at least 400 new jobs to the St. Louis area.