Missouri's Economy
The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that Missouri’s unemployment rate is now among the highest in the nation (5.5%). The state has lost 2,100 jobs in the past month alone. According to the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), an independent non-profit group, Missouri’s “job growth is not thriving in Missouri (37th in long-term employment growth; 41st in short-term growth), and annual pay is stagnating (48th in average annual pay growth). Similarly, first time homebuyers are not buying in Missouri in the same numbers as in other states (42nd in change in homeownership rate).”
If Missouri had grown at the national average growth rate as the rest of the country between January 2005 and January 2007, during this time period, 38,102 more Missourians would have jobs today.
According to the recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Missouri has lost 16,700 manufacturing jobs in January 2005. [Analysis of Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Release, 01/18/2008]
In 2002, Missouri ranked 28 out of the 50 states in the New Economy Index. In 2007, Missouri’s rankings had slipped from 28 to 35. The New Economy Index used multiple indicators to rate how states are structured according to the tenets of the New Economy. This represents one of the steepest declines in the nation.