Trendsights Newsletter

February Online Job Postings by Region
There were 66,640 new job postings in Missouri in February 2023, according to data from Lightcast™. This was down from 88,440 in January 2023. General Medical and Surgical Hospitals, Restaurants and Other Eating Places, and Colleges, Universities, and other Professional Schools were the industries with the most new job postings in the state during the month. The St. Louis Region had the most job postings of any region in the state with 26,730.
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists and Technicians
Occupational health and safety specialists and technicians collect data about, as well as analyze many types of work environments and work procedures. Specialists inspect workplaces for adherence to regulations on safety, health, and the environment. Technicians work with specialists in conducting tests and measuring hazards to help prevent harm to workers, property, the environment, and the general public. The median annual wage for occupational health and safety specialists in Missouri was $74,270 in 2021 and requires a four-year degree and extensive training. The median annual wage for occupational health and safety technicians in Missouri was $61,400 and requires an associate degree or a high school diploma and on-the-job training. Learn more about these occupations at the link above.
Annual Business Applications by State and County
Business applications increased by 20.3 percent in Missouri in 2021, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, reaching a total of more than 84,000 for the year. Top counties included St. Louis County with 19,712, followed by Jackson County (13,209) and St. Louis City County (7,781). Data for each Missouri county is available in this new report.
Missouri Exports Rise in 2022
Exports from Missouri to other countries rose by 3.8 percent from 2021 to 2022, totaling over $6.1 billion. Over half of all Missouri’s export income came from the top three recipient countries in 2022. Canada purchased just under $5.7 billion in goods, followed by Mexico ($3.4 billion), and Germany ($679 million). Brazil had the largest percentage increase in exports from 2021 to 2022 with growth of 12 percent followed by Netherlands (10%) and Canada (9%).
Missouri Internet Access Survey Open
The University of Missouri Extension and Office of Broadband Development are conducting a survey about internet access in Missouri to help guide internet expansion and training efforts in the state. Complete this short, six-minute survey to make sure the internet access and experience in your area is included in the study.
State Business Index Rises
Missouri’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for February was 52.7, increasing 10.6 points from January, according to the monthly Mid-America Business Conditions Survey, conducted by Creighton University, Omaha, NE. The Mid American Business Survey rebounded to its highest level since July of 2022, after three consecutive months of sluggish index numbers. Economists consider the index a key economic indicator. It measures such factors as new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, import orders and exports. Typically, a score greater than 50 indicates an expansionary economy while a score below 50 forecasts a sluggish economy.
Missouri County-to-County Migration
The Missouri Census Data Center (MCDC) in conjunction with the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS) has published maps showing county-to-county migration in Missouri. There are two different maps – one for inward county-level migration and one for outward county-level migration. The data originates from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey and covers the period from 2015 to 2019. Click on the link above to learn more about where people are moving in Missouri.
Northwest Region Profile
The Northwest Region is comprised of 18 counties in the northwest corner of Missouri. The region is home to several cities including St. Joseph, Chillicothe, Trenton, and Maryville. The Northwest Region workforce has almost 119,000 employees, making up 4.1 percent of Missouri’s employment. In 2021, 48.4 percent of the workforce was female and 51.6 percent was male. Click on the link above to learn more about this region.
Cost of Living Annual Average for 2022
Missouri had the 6th lowest cost of living in the United States for 2022. In general, the most expensive areas to live were Hawaii, Alaska, the Northeast, and the West Coast. The least expensive areas were the Midwest and Southern states. MERIC derives the cost of living index for each state by averaging the indices of participating cities and metropolitan areas in that state. Missouri’s cost of living index for 2022 was 89.1. Of the participating metropolitan areas in Missouri, Joplin had the lowest cost of living with an index of 82.0.
Southeast Region Profile
The Southeast Region is comprised of 13 counties in the southeast portion of Missouri. The region is home to several cities including Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Caruthersville, and Park Hills. The Southeast Region workforce has more than 157,200 employees, making up 5.4 percent of Missouri’s employment. Health Care and Social Assistance is the largest employing industry in the region, even though it lost 1,377 in employment in 2021 when compared to 2017. Manufacturing is the second largest industry, followed by Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services.
Community Explorer Tool by County
The Milken Institute’s Community Explorer tool provides an interactive display of a wide variety of data—from economic and demographic numbers to education, housing, and health features— at the county level. This tool can be used to look at all data for one county or to compare counties by the individual data points.
Real Time Labor Market Summaries October to December 2022
Missouri employers posted 224,160 job ads from October through December 2022, with 77 percent for full-time positions. Health Care and Social Assistance was the industry with the largest number of job postings, making up 25 percent of the total. The St. Louis Region had more than 95,000 job postings in the quarter, which was the most of any region. See summaries for the state and each region in these quarterly briefs by clicking on the link above.
Census Economic Indicators Dashboard
The U.S. Census Bureau's economic indicator surveys provide monthly and quarterly data that are timely, reliable, and offer comprehensive measures of the U.S. economy. These surveys produce a variety of statistics covering construction, housing, international trade, retail trade, wholesale trade, services, and manufacturing. A new dashboard of these indicators provides a quick look at the most current trend for each indicator, as well as the next planned release.
Valentine's Day Fun Facts 2023
Valentine's Day spending is predicted to total $25.9 billion in the U.S., with average spending of $192.80 per person, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2023 Valentine’s Day Consumer Survey. In Missouri, chocolate and candy exports topped $10.6 million in 2021. Click on the above link to discover more fun facts about Valentine’s Day and how consumers plan to lavish gifts on their loved ones.
Business Formations Decline in U.S. in December
Business Formation Statistics (BFS) provided by the U.S. Census Bureau measure business initiation activity and the cycle from initiation to realized business formation. These statistics give an early look at business formation activity within the U.S. and a detailed look at the state level and regional levels. Business applications in the U.S. for December 2022, adjusted for seasonal variation, were 417,055. This was a decrease of 0.3 percent compared to November 2022.
Kansas City Region Profile
The Kansas City Region is comprised of five counties in the west central part of Missouri. The region is home to several cities including Kansas City and Independence. The Kansas City Region workforce has almost 591,200 employees, making up 20.2 percent of Missouri’s employment. Health Care and Social Assistance; Retail Trade; and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services industries are the largest employing industries in the region.
FRED Poverty Graphing Tool for 2021 Data
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) has a new graphing tool for the comparison of county-level poverty data. The tool provides a quick way to track rates by county, create your own graph, and compare the trends over time.
Ozark Region Profile
The Ozark Region is comprised of seven counties in the southwest quadrant of Missouri. This region is home to several cities including Springfield, Branson, Nixa, and Marshfield. The Ozark Region workforce has more than 266,700 employees, making up 9.1 percent of Missouri’s employment. In 2021, 48.9 percent of the workforce was female and 51.1 percent was male, which is about same percentage as Missouri. Health Care and Social Assistance is the largest employing industry in the Ozark Region, showing consistent growth over the years. Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services are next largest employing industries.
MERIC How-to Videos
MERIC is building a library of videos about the data available on the website and how to access it. The videos cover topics such as unemployment data and occupational employment and wages estimates. See the first of these videos and watch this page as new topics are added.
Missouri's Boomtown: Wentzville
“Boomtowns” are considered the fastest-growing cities in the United States due to rapid business and population growth. An example of such a place is Wentzville, Missouri. The town saw large five- and eight-year percentage changes in population of 26.4 percent and 42.8 percent, respectively, along with growth in the number of housing units. Learn more about Wentzville and other boomtowns in this article.
Business Index Decreases
Missouri’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for December was 43.6, decreasing 3.6 points from November, according to the monthly Mid-America Business Conditions Survey, conducted by Creighton University. For the first time since the early days of the pandemic in May 2020, the overall Mid America index fell below growth neutral for two consecutive months, pointing to greater economic concerns for 2023. Economists consider the index a key economic indicator measuring such factors as new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, import orders and exports. Typically, a score greater than 50 indicates an expansionary economy while a score below 50 forecasts a sluggish economy.
Missouri Language Diversity Brief
Information on language diversity in the state helps inform the public, businesses, agencies, organizations, and other stakeholders of the unique language diversity across Missouri. Ninety-four percent of Missouri residents speak English only. The remaining six percent of residents whose primary language is something other than English can be broken down into two groups: those who are fluent in English and those that have a limited proficiency with the English language. Counties in Missouri that have the largest percentage of the population who speak a language other than English are Sullivan (17.9%), McDonald (12.7%), Pettis (12.1%), Pulaski (11.9%), and Daviess (10.3%).
Growth in U.S. Population Shows Early Indication of Recovery
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released Vintage 2022 national and state population estimates that show, after a historically low rate of change between 2020 and 2021, the U.S. resident population increased by 0.4 percent, or 1,256,003, to 333,287,557 in 2022. The South and West were the fastest growing regions, while the East and Midwest lost residents. Missouri had a population change from 2021 to 2022 of 0.1 percent adding 8,134 residents. Click on the link above to learn more about the change in population by state and region.
Job Ads Comparison - November 2022
Job postings increased by 21 percent from November 2021 to November 2022. In November 2022, there were 74,310 online job postings compared to 61,590 in November 2021. The seasonally adjusted preliminary November 2022 unemployment rate of 2.7 percent in Missouri was slightly higher than the previous month’s (October 2022) rate of 2.6 percent and lower than the previous year’s (November 2021) rate of 3.9 percent.