Missouri's unemployment rate is at its lowest all year.
Dropping from 4.3 percent in June to 4.2 percent in July and then to 4 percent in August, the state's unemployment has fallen for the second month in a row to its lowest point in 2021.
An estimated 123,158 Missourians were unemployed in August, which is down 5,448 people from July's 128,606 estimated unemployment number, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.
Employment in the state increased by 7,300 jobs from July to August, reaching 2,839,400 employed Missourians for August.
Goods-producing industries gained 5,300 jobs throughout the state, while service-providing industries gained roughly 2,000 jobs.
Government employment decreased by 3,200 jobs for the month.
Employment in Jefferson City increased by 600 jobs in August, jumping from 77,900 people employed in the area to 78,500.
The Jefferson City area had its largest employment increases in service-producing industries.
Missouri's unemployment drop mirrors the national rate, which decreased from 5.4 percent in July to 5.2 percent in August.
A year ago, Missouri's unemployment rate was 6 percent as the state worked through its recovery plan following major disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Total payroll employment increased by 73,400 jobs from August 2020 to August 2021, reflecting the recovery from job cuts brought on by the initial wave of COVID-19 infections," MERIC's August Jobs Report states.
The state's not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate also decreased .4 percent from July's rate of 3.9 percent. The decrease is a result of manufacturing employees being recalled from short-term layoffs, according to MERIC's report.