U.S. and Missouri jobless rates fall in competitive labor environment

For the seventh month in a row, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped in December, to 3.9%. In April 2020, the first full month after the advent of the pandemic, the rate was more than 14%.

Missouri's December numbers lag behind the national figures but in November, the Show Me State's jobless rate was 3.5%, down from October's 3.7% and September's 3.8%, according to the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

The most recent county-by-county metrics in Missouri are from October and Cape Girardeau County's unemployment rate in that month was 2.5%, Perry County was 2.1% and Scott County came in at 2.6%.

The declining jobless numbers come as wages are increasing.

"The falling U.S. jobless rate and rising wages illustrate a tight labor market," Bloomberg News reported Friday.

In Missouri, the minimum wage increased Jan. 1 to $11.15 per hour, in accordance with 2018 voter approval of Proposition B, which granted $0.85 yearly minimum wage hikes until topping out at $12 per hour in 2023. After 2023, the minimum will be indexed and increased according to the Consumer Price Index.

Tipped employees, according to the provisions of the approved ballot initiative, must be paid half of Missouri's prevailing minimum wage.

The federal minimum is $7.25 per hour and has not increased in more than a decade. President Joe Biden has publicly supported a push for a national $15 minimum age.

Looking for more business news? Check out B Magazine, and the B Magazine email newsletter. Go to www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.