Overall unemployment rate moved up to 4.3% with the biggest shift in Transportation & Utilities, which lost 7,500 roles, based on the most recently available information published in March 2022.

Total employment in the St. Louis, MO-IL market rose by 7,046 jobs in January and the unemployment rate increased compared to the prior month by 130 bps to 4.3%. The national unemployment rate increased by 74 bps over the same time to 4.4%.

  • St. Louis, MO-IL unemployment rate is 13 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
  • Unemployment in the market is 120 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
  • Average wages (per hour) grew in January versus prior month by 11.4% and are up compared to last year at this time in the market.
Month over Month Unemployment Change
Year over Year Unemployment Change
St. Louis, MO-IL Unemployment January 2022

For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -2.4%. Key sectors include:

  • Transportation & Utilities: 265,300; -7,500
  • Education & Healthcare: 250,000; -4,600
  • Business Services: 207,600; -5,900
  • Government: 151,400; -2,700
  • Restaurants & Hotels: 127,100; -5,000
  • Manufacturing: 114,800; +100
  • Financial Services: 88,800; -1,600
  • Construction, Mining: 67,400; -3,900
  • Other Jobs: 50,000; -500
  • IT & Development: 25,300; -1,000
St. Louis, MO-IL Unemployment by Industry January 2022

Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through January 2022 (Data published March 2022 and reports created on March 18, 2022).  Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.

Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.