Trendsights Newsletter

2024 Kids Count Data Book
The Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT® is a premier data source on children, youth, and families. Recently updated for 2024, the report and interactive data tool provides indicators for the nation, states, counties, and cities for factors such as demographics, education, economic well-being, family and community, health, and safety. Click on the link above to explore the latest data for Missouri’s youth.
Personal Care and Service Occupations
Personal Care and Service Occupations include workers who care for children, animals, fitness, and beauty needs. Overall employment in Personal Care and Service Occupations is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations from 2022 to 2032. About 752,700 openings are projected each year nationally due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave the occupations permanently. There were 56,100 workers in these occupations in Missouri in 2023 and the median annual wage was $34,530. Educational requirements for positions in this occupational group range from a high school diploma to postsecondary nondegree awards to an associate degree.
June Online Job Postings
There were 58,180 new job postings in Missouri in June 2024, according to data from Lightcast™. This was lower than the 61,960 postings in May 2024. The St. Louis region had 1,490 manufacturing industry job postings in June 2024, followed by the Kansas City (740), Central (290), Ozark (260), North (200), and Southwest (170) regions. Click on the link above to view more job postings for Missouri and its regions.
Missouri Business Applications Rise in May
New business applications in Missouri have increased for four consecutive months, including a jump from 7,125 in April to 7,386 in May. The new business formations data, collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, measures the number of Employer Identification Numbers (EIN) assigned to new entities for tax purposes and provide an early look at business formation activity in an area.
2023 Occupational Data Released
How much does a registered nurse earn in the Kansas City area? How many electricians are employed in southeast Missouri? These are the kinds of questions that the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data can answer. OEWS data provides employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations in Missouri, as well as regions in the state. This data is produced in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by surveying employers across Missouri. Click on the link above to explore the 2023 data, or download the complete Excel file for Missouri and regions for your own analysis.
Celebrating Fourth of July
Missouri has three of the largest cities with patriotic-sounding names, including Independence, Jefferson City, and Liberty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Learn more about the Fourth of July by visiting Census Facts for Features at https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2024/fourth-of-july.html or click on the link above to see other cities in the U.S. with patriotic-sounding names.
County Average Wages
St. Louis City had the highest average annual wage across all private industries in 2023 at $76,960, compared to the state average of $62,556. County average wage figures are derived from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), a cooperative program between the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. Click on the link above to view county average wages for both privately owned industries and all industries combined.
Missouri's GDP Growth, 4th Quarter 2023
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the broadest measure of an area’s economic activity. In the fourth quarter of 2023, real GDP increased in all U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Growth ranged from 6.7 percent in Nevada to 0.2 percent in Nebraska. Missouri’s GDP grew by 3.3 percent.
Cost of Living First Quarter 2024
Missouri had the sixth lowest cost of living in the United States for the first quarter in 2024. 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 the first quarter 2024 was 88.5.
Father's Day Fun Facts
Father's Day is a day to honor the men and father figures who have made a difference in our lives. Three of every four Midwesterners plan to celebrate Father's Day this year. Shop in one of the 350 hardware stores in Missouri to find the perfect gift! Click on the link above to see other fun facts about this holiday.
Missouri Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are an arrangement in which a worker receives hands-on job training, technical instruction, and a paycheck—all while learning to do a job. Many apprenticeships are in construction trades while others are in occupations related to helping others, installing and fixing things, producing things, and more. This analysis from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics highlights a variety of occupations that may be achieved through an apprenticeship program. Learn more about apprenticeship programs in Missouri.
Southwest Region Real-Time Job Postings Summary Q1 2024
The Southwest Region had 4,570 online job postings in the first quarter of 2024. Joplin had the most job postings in the region during the quarter, while Health Care and Social Assistance and Retail Trade were the industries with the most postings.
City Populations 2023
Large cities in the Northeast and Midwest grew in 2023, reversing earlier population declines, according to Vintage 2023 Population Estimates recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Missouri had 13 cities with a population of 50,000 residents or more in 2023. Of those, Blue Springs had the largest population increase from July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023 at 1.6 percent increase, followed by St. Peters (1.5 percent), Joplin (1.1 percent), St. Charles (0.8 percent), Lee’s Summit (0.7 percent), and Columbia (0.7 percent). Data for all Missouri cities can be found in this latest update from the Census Bureau.
Year-to-Year Job Ad Comparison: April 2024
Job postings decreased by 14 percent from April 2023 to April 2024. In April 2024, there were 62,310 online job postings compared to 72,750 in April 2023. Postings for Sales Representatives of Services more than doubled compared to last year, while postings for Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers had the largest decrease (-29%).
Occupational Outlook: Information Security Analyst
Information security analysts plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization’s computer networks and systems. Most information security analysts work for computer companies, consulting firms, or business and financial companies. Information security analysts typically need a bachelor’s degree in a computer science field, along with related work experience. The median annual wage for information security analysts in Missouri was $88,790 in 2022.
Quarterly Real-Time Summary Dashboard
Real-Time Labor Market Summaries for regions are now available in an interactive online dashboard. Data for this analysis has been extracted using Lightcast™, which collects information from over 35,000 web sources, including job boards, newspapers, and large and small employer websites. This dashboard replaces previous standalone reports to make updates more frequent and interactive, highlighting the industries, occupations, and employers with the most job postings in the quarter by region.
Agritourism in Missouri
Agritourism can take many forms, including farm tours, hayrides, hunting, fishing, and other recreational services. According to the Census of Agriculture, the number of agritourism operations in the United States remained stable over the past five years, while agritourism revenue grew 33 percent, from $949 million in 2017 to $1.25 billion in 2022.
Online Job Postings for April 2024
There were 62,310 new job postings in Missouri in April 2024, according to data from Lightcast™. This was lower than the 65,330 postings in March 2024. The St. Louis region had 1,610 manufacturing industry job postings in April 2024, followed by the Kansas City (810), Central (300), Ozark (280), North (200), and Southwest (170) regions. Click on the link above to view more job postings for Missouri and its regions.
Missouri's Fastest Growing Occupations
Missouri employment is projected to increase 2.3 percent between 2023 and 2025. Of the top 20 occupations in the state with the fastest growth rate, eight are in the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations group. The average wage for all occupations in 2022 was $54,520 in Missouri. See all of the 20 fastest growing occupations by 2025 in this list.
Mother's Day Fun Facts
According to the National Retail Federation, Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate women who play a meaningful role in our lives. Mother's Day spending is projected to reach $33.5 billion nationwide, with the average person spending $254.04. View this infographic for some facts and figures about how mothers and other loved ones will be honored on this special day.
March 2023 to 2024 Job Ad Comparison
Job postings in Missouri decreased by 14 percent from March 2023 to March 2024. In March 2024, there were 65,910 online job postings compared to 76,620 in March 2023. Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses had the largest increase (13%) compared to last year.
Missouri Short-term Industry Projections
New short-term industry projections for 2023-2025 have been released for Missouri, Kansas City, and St. Louis. In Missouri, the industry sectors with the largest projected employment growth are Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitals; and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services.
Missouri Top Openings
Missouri is projected to have more than 381,000 total job openings each year between 2023 and 2025. Total openings include growth openings, exit openings, and transfer openings. Of the 20 occupations with the top job openings in Missouri, most are in the major occupation groups of Food Preparation and Serving Related, Office and Administrative Support, and Transportation and Material Moving. The average wage for all occupations in Missouri in 2022 was $54,520.
Occupational Outlook: Home Health Aide
Home health and personal care aides monitor the condition of people with disabilities or chronic illnesses and help them with daily living activities. Home health and personal care aides work in a variety of settings, including clients’ homes, group homes, and day services programs. Home health and personal care aides typically need a high school diploma or equivalent, but some positions do not require it. In Missouri, the median annual wage for home health and personal care aides was $29,421 in 2023, with a total employment of 88,855.