Trendsights Newsletter

Occupational Handbook: Heavy and Tractor-trailer Truck Drivers
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers transport goods from one location to another. Working as a long-haul truck driver typically requires a high school diploma and attending a professional truck driving school. Pursuing work as a long-haul truck driver is a lifestyle choice because these drivers can be away from home for days or weeks at a time. Nationally, the median annual pay for this occupation was $57,440 in 2024. In Missouri, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are projected to have more than 5,000 openings annually with a median wage of $50,540.
Ozark Region Career Outlook
Career Grades are a tool to help make comparisons between occupations. Each occupation is assigned a letter grade from A+ to F based on its outlook over the next decade. The Ozark region is projected to have over 33,400 annual job openings through 2032. Some of the occupations in the region with an A or B career grade include customer service representatives, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, nursing assistants, general and operations managers, and accountants and auditors.
Latest Federal Beige Books for Kansas City and St. Louis
The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication about current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. It characterizes regional economic conditions and prospects based on a variety of mostly qualitative information, gathered directly from each district's sources. Reports across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts indicate that economic activity has declined slightly since the previous report. Half of the districts reported slight to moderate declines in activity, three districts reported no change, and three districts reported slight growth. Missouri is the only state to be home to two federal reserve banks, and the reports from the Kansas City and St. Louis districts provide an overview of current economic conditions in the central U.S.
May Online Job Postings
There were 59,040 new job postings in Missouri in May 2025, according to data from Lightcast™. This was lower than the 63,560 postings in April 2025. The Heath Care and Social Assistance industry had the most postings statewide and in six of the nine regions. The St. Louis Region had 3,820 Health Care and Social Assistance job postings in May 2025, followed by the Kansas City (2,150), Central (1,050), Ozark (640), and North (560) regions. Click on the link above to view more about job postings trends for Missouri and its regions.
Cost of Living First Quarter 2025
Missouri had the fourth lowest cost of living in the United States for the first quarter in 2025. In general, the most expensive areas to live were Hawaii, Alaska, the Northeast, and the West Coast. The least expensive areas were 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 first quarter 2025 was 88.0.
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 people plan to celebrate Father's Day this year. Shop in one of the over 350 hardware stores in Missouri to find the perfect gift! Click on the link above to see other fun facts about this holiday.
Missouri Business Index Rises
Missouri’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for May 2025 was 53.4, increasing 5.3 points from the April level of 48.1. The monthly Mid-America Business Conditions Survey conducted by Creighton University is considered 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.
Women in the Workforce
There were more than 1.43 million women in Missouri’s workforce (in both private- and public-owned establishments) in 2023, making up 50.6 percent of total Missouri employment. The percentage of women in the workforce has remained steady over the last 10 years. Women’s share of employment varies by occupation. Across the state, Healthcare Support occupations have the largest female representation at 84 percent. Click on the link above to learn more.
Commuting Profile: South Central
The South Central Workforce Development Area (WDA) consists of 12 counties: Butler, Carter, Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Reynolds, Ripley, Shannon, Texas, Wayne, and Wright. Poplar Bluff and West Plains are among the largest cities in the region. There were 52,363 employees that lived in the South Central WDA and 43,749 workers employed in the region, resulting in a net outflow of 8,614 workers traveling to jobs outside of the region. Click on the link above to learn more about the South Central and the workforce commuting habits.
Top Openings for STEM Occupations
Missouri’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) occupations are projected to have 14,100 annual openings each year between 2022 and 2032. STEM occupations generally pay above average wages in Missouri, and most require a bachelor’s degree or higher. Eighteen of the top 20 STEM occupations have Career Grades that are B and higher, meaning these occupations have above average growth, total openings, or wages.
2024 Occupational Data Released
What is the average wage for a nursing assistant in the St. Louis area? How many welders are employed in southwest Missouri? These are the kinds of questions that Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data can answer. OEWS data provides employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations in Missouri, and in the state's 15 geographical regions. This data is produced in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by conducting a survey of employers across Missouri. Click the link above to explore the 2024 data or download the complete Excel file for your own analysis.
LMI Quick Reference Guide
The Labor Market Information (LMI) Quick Reference Guide provides descriptions and uses for many of the most common labor market information data sets. With links to data about employment, wages, labor force trends, demographics, and career planning products, the quick reference guide is a good place to start for anyone wanting to learn more about these valuable resources.
Middle Skill Occupations
Middle-skill occupations are an essential part of Missouri’s workforce, accounting for 4 out of every 10 jobs. These critical occupations are broadly defined as occupations that require some training after high school but less than a bachelor’s degree. Middle-skill jobs often offer good pay or career pathways with industry-recognized training and credentials that can be as short as a few months. The Manufacturing industry had the highest total number of middle-skill employees, followed by the Health Care and Social Assistance sector.
Skills Demand: Computer and Mathematical Occupations
Employers request a variety of skills from job applicants. Some skills are termed as durable, or soft skills, such as communication, creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, or customer service. Other skills are considered technical or hard skills, such as sales, project management, computer science, or programming languages. This brief explores skills requested by employers in their job postings for Computer and Mathematical occupations, and how the demand for these skills has changed over the last five years. Learning about in-demand skills help the potential workforce prepare for skills of today and may identify emerging trends for the future.
Missouri Per Capita Income 2024
Missouri’s per capital personal income was $64,740 in 2024 according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The U.S. per capita personal income was $72,425. Missouri’s per capita income increased 0.6 percent compared to 2023 while the national average increased 1.0 percent.
Mother's Day Fun Facts
According to the National Retail Federation, Mother’s Day is a time to honor women who play a meaningful role in our lives. Mother's Day spending is projected to reach $34.1 billion nationwide, with the average person spending $259.04. Some of that spending may occur in Missouri’s more than 10,700 restaurants across the state. View this infographic for some facts and figures about how mothers and other loved ones will be celebrated this special day.
Census Releases 2024 County and Metro Population Estimates
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released 2024 population data for U.S. counties, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, and Puerto Rico. These estimates reflect population changes between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2024. In Missouri, the population of Lincoln County grew the fastest between 2020 and 2024, increasing by 10.1 percent. Other counties with the fastest growth rates included Webster (7.8%), Warren (7.7%), Christian (7.6%), and Wright (7.1%). Dekalb County decreased by 14.8 percent, or 1,712 residents, during this time.
Commuting Profile: Southwest Region
Of the 94,751 workers employed in the Southwest Region in 2022, 70.1 percent commuted to work from within the region. The remainder (29.9%) commuted from homes outside of the region. More than 40 percent of the employees in the region commuted fewer than 10 miles to work, while 20.8 percent travel more than 50 miles. Click on the link above to learn more about where workers commute in the Southwest Region.
Real-Time Job Postings 1st Quarter 2025
In the first quarter of 2025, employers advertised for a wide variety of jobs in Missouri. Throughout the state, there were more than 188,000 online job postings from January 2025 to March 2025. Posted occupations included those that could be started with on-the-job or short-term training such as Home Health and Personal Aides and Customer Service Representatives, as well as those requiring additional credentials, such as Maintenance and Repair Workers or Software Developers. See the top posted occupations and employers with the most openings in this interactive regional dashboard.
Regional Commuting Profiles
Workforce Commuting Profiles provide demographic and industry highlights for area workers as well as commuting patterns showing how people travel in, out, and around a region for employment. Often workers leave their resident county for a job — to another county and sometimes another region, but at the end of the day their income is often spent closer to home. These profiles help tell this story and show the importance of economic and workforce planning regardless of geographic location.
2022 Economic Census: Exploring Industry Data by Geography
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released new economic data from the 2022 Economic Census, a primary source of information about the U.S. economy. The Geographic Area Statistics provide detailed industry data by geographic area, including states, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, counties, and places for employer businesses (those with paid employees) in the United States. Data include the number of firms, establishments, employees, sales, and annual and first quarter payroll. Use the link above to see the latest data for Missouri.
Fast Facts about STEM Careers
Careers in STEM and STEM-Related occupations are in demand and education is key to meeting that demand. Of the 196 STEM and STEM-Related occupations in Missouri, 192 require some level of postsecondary education beyond high school. Seven of the top 10 STEM occupations are related to computers and computer technology, like Software Developers and Computer User Support Specialists. These quick facts show the importance and opportunity around STEM occupations.
Online Job Postings: March
There were 62,330 new job postings in Missouri in March 2025, according to data from Lightcast™. This was higher than the 60,880 postings in February 2025. The St. Louis region had 1,660 manufacturing industry job postings in March 2025, followed by the Kansas City (840), Central (460), Ozark (280), North (230), and Southwest (170) regions. Click on the link above to view more job postings for Missouri and its regions.
STEM Occupations in Missouri
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and STEM-Related occupations are some of the most in-demand and highest paying jobs in Missouri. The need for such employees is projected to grow about one and a half times more than the average for all occupations. The projected growth rate for STEM and STEM-Related occupations from 2022-2032 is 12.6 percent, while the statewide average growth rate for all occupations is 4.3 percent. By 2032, the total employment for STEM and STEM-Related occupations is expected to be more than 437,222, an increase of over 49,000 jobs.