WASHINGTON: St. Louis’ unemployment rate ticked higher in August, but at 3.8 percent it’s still close to the lowest levels of this century. The metro area jobless rate, as seasonally adjusted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, rose from 3.6 percent in July, which was the lowest rate in 17 years. Metro St. Louis has been below the national unemployment rate, which was 4.4 percent in August, for 28 consecutive months.
The number of metro-area residents counted as unemployed fell by 15,908, or 21 percent, between August 2016 and August 2017, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. The metro area’s labor force continues to shrink, however. That figure, which counts people who have a job or are actively looking for one, fell by 17,266, or 1.2 percent, between August 2016 and August 2017. A shrinking labor force makes St. Louis less attractive to companies seeking to expand — such as Amazon, which is conducting a nationwide search for a second headquarters. The unemployment and labor-force figures come from a BLS survey of households. Based on a separate survey of employers, the BLS estimated that St. Louis lost 2,100 jobs in August.
