Missouri Loses Jobs While Unemployment Increases Slightly

Missouri's unemployment rate increased slightly to 5.7 percent last month while the economy lost several thousand jobs.

The state Department of Economic Development released data this week showing the seasonally adjusted jobless rate increased from 5.6 percent in March.

Unemployment fell to 5.4 percent in December — its lowest rate since April 2008. That rate has gone up slightly since January, although the jobless rate in April still was slightly lower than at the same time last year.

Data show the state also lost about 5,700 jobs in April.