Unemployment Jumped For Crawford County In February; Initial Claims At Five-Month Low

Unemployment jumped for Crawford County in February, the most recent data available, but initial claims were at a five-month low.

According to the Missouri Department of Labor, the unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent, up from 4.4 percent in January.

However, initial claims were less than half of January’s total, from 109 to 39.

The initial claims were the lowest since October 2023 when there were 38.

Unemployment is at its highest in Crawford County since June 2021, when it reached 5 percent.

Neighboring

In Dent County, the unemployment rate dropped from 4.3 percent to 4.2 percent. Initial claims fell by half from 27 to 14.

Franklin County rose slightly from 3.6 percent to 3.7 percent, though initial claims fell from 493 in January to 164 in February.

Gasconade County’s rate ticked up from 3.6 percent to 3.8 percent, though initial claims were one-third of the total — from 55 to 16.

It was the lowest since March 2023.

Iron County’s rate expanded from 5.8 percent to 6.3 percent, with initial claims falling from 34 to 11.

Phelps County fell slightly from 3.9 percent to 3.8 percent. Initial claims fell from 101 to 41.

Washington County’s rate rose from 5.3 percent to 5.6 percent. Initial claims dropped from 140 to 48.

State

According to the Department of Labor, Missouri nonfarm payroll employment increased by 7,800 jobs in February 2024, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged from January's 3.3 percent. Private industry employment increased by 6,500 jobs and government employment increased by 1,300 jobs. Over the year, there was an increase of 46,000 jobs from February 2023 to February 2024, and the unemployment rate increased by half of a percentage point, from 2.8 percent in February 2023 to 3.3 percent in February 2024.

Missouri's labor force participation rate was 63.1 percent in February 2024, six-tenths of a percentage point higher than the national rate of 62.5 percent. Missouri's employment-population ratio was 61 percent in February 2024, nine-tenths of a percentage point higher than the national rate of 60.1 percent. Missouri's unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in February 2024, six-tenths of a percentage point lower than the national rate of 3.9 percent. Missouri's unemployment rate has been at or below the national rate for more than eight years.