The local economy of Missouri and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
3.5%
August 2026, 4.0% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,354
Q1 2026, 2,890,458 jobs
New homes permitted
18,495
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
+8,730
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Missouri, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Missouri is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Missouri was 3.5% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 4.0% a year earlier. 3,057,441 people were employed out of a labor force of 3,169,856. Among its counties, Atchison County had the lowest rate (2.9%) and Mississippi County the highest (6.2%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Missouri was $1,354 in Q1 2026, up 3.4% from a year earlier, across 2,890,458 jobs at 263,493 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 2,198 new homes in Missouri in August 2026 (1,050 single-family and 1,078 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 12,831, up 13.4% from the same months last year, and 18,495 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Jackson County (3,615), St. Charles County (2,140), Taney County (1,235) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 126,617 people moved to Missouri and 117,887 moved away, a net gain of 8,730 (+1.8 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Kansas, Illinois, Texas, and most people who left went to Kansas, Illinois, Texas.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Missouri. In its region, Midwest, regular gasoline averaged $4.29 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.