Trendsights Newsletter

Target Industry: Manufacturing
The Manufacturing industry includes material and product producers and the industries that support them. Manufacturing represents 12.6 percent of total private sector employment in Missouri, employing 312,208 workers across 11,186 establishments in 2023. Statewide annual average wage for the manufacturing industry in 2023 was $74,441.
The Growing Impact of AI on the Workforce
Business use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Missouri is small but growing. In a May 2024 survey, 89 percent of Missouri businesses reported not using AI, 5 percent were unsure and 6.1 percent used AI, slightly more than the U.S. average (5.7%). While the percentage of firms using AI is small, this level is nearly double the share of Missouri businesses that reported using AI a year earlier (3.1%). Looking ahead, 8.4 percent of Missouri firms expect to adopt AI within the next six months, indicating a slow but steady belief that AI adoption will increase. The top uses of AI for both Missouri and U.S. businesses include marketing automation, chatbot assistance, natural language processing and data analytics.
August Job Comparison Report
Job postings remained steady from August 2023 to August 2024, increasing 0.4 percent. In August 2024, there were 62,120 online job postings compared to 61,890 in August 2023. Online job postings for Registered Nurses had the largest increase (20%), while Retail Salespersons had the largest decrease in online job postings (-13%).
Real-time Brief: Manufacturing
During 2023, there were more than 50,000 online job postings for the Manufacturing industry in Missouri. The occupation with the most postings was Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, which made up 3.2 percent of the industry total. Some of the top specialized skills requested in online job postings for Manufacturing included project management, computer science, forklift truck operation, and warehousing.
industry Projections 2022-2032
New 2022 to 2032 industry projections for Missouri estimate employment in the state to grow by 4.3 percent, or more than 136,000 in employment, during the decade. Health Care and Social Assistance; Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; and Finance and Insurance are projected to be the industries with the largest numeric growth.
Occupational Projections 2022-2032
Occupational projections show Missouri is projected to have more than 357,000 total job openings each year from 2022 to 2032. The fastest growing occupational groups are projected to be Computer and Mathematical, Healthcare Support, and Healthcare Practitioners and Technical occupations. Occupational projections for both Missouri and its regions provide an outlook for job growth in the future.
2023 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates Released
The 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Estimates were recently released for the nation, states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, congressional districts, metropolitan areas, and counties and places with a population of 65,000 or more. This quick link to the Missouri profile shows estimates for subjects such as population demographics, educational attainment, commute to work, mortgage status and rent, income, poverty, and health insurance coverage. The 5-Year ACS estimates with data for smaller geographies is scheduled for release on December 12, 2024.
Occupational Outlook: Physical Therapist Assistant
Physical therapist assistants are supervised by physical therapists to help patients regain movement and manage pain after injuries and illnesses, and work in physical therapists’ offices or in hospitals. Physical therapist assistants entering the occupation typically need an associate degree from an accredited program and a license or certification. The median annual wage for physical therapist assistants was $64,080 in May 2023 for the nation and $61,310 in Missouri.
Cost of Living Second Quarter 2024
Missouri had the seventh lowest cost of living in the United States for the second quarter of 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 second quarter 2024 was 88.6.
Online Job Postings for August 2024
There were 62,380 new job postings in Missouri in August 2024, according to data from Lightcast™. This was lower than the 64,450 postings in July 2024. The St. Louis region had 1,620 manufacturing industry job postings in August 2024, followed by the Kansas City (710), Central (430), Ozark (330), North (280), and Southwest (220) regions. Click on the link above to view more job postings for Missouri and its regions.
July 2024 Job Postings Comparison
There were more than 61,000 job postings in Missouri in July 2024, a decrease of 12 percent compared to July 2023. Online job postings for Sales Representatives of Services had the largest increase (69%) in job postings over the year, while Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers had the largest decrease (-40%).
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.
Missouri Business Index Ranks Highest in Region
Missouri’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for July was 56.1. Despite declining from June’s level of 61.8, Missouri’s index remained the highest state index in the Mid-America region, according to the monthly Mid-America Business Conditions Survey conducted by Creighton University. For the fourth time this year, the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index has risen above growth neutral level of 50. This economic indicator measures such factors as new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, import orders and exports to give a snapshot of the current economic conditions. Typically, a score greater than 50 indicates an expansionary economy while a score below 50 forecasts a sluggish economy.
Missouri Second Quarter Exports Rise
Exports from Missouri to other countries rose 13.1 percent from 2023 Q2 to 2024 Q2, totaling just under $10 billion. Over half of all Missouri’s export income came from the top three recipient countries in 2024. Canada purchased just under $3.5 billion in goods, followed by Mexico ($2.0 billion) and Japan ($603 million). Click on the link above to learn more about what types of products are being exported from Missouri.
Missouri Industry Concentration 2023 Dashboard
Industry concentration analysis using location quotients (LQ) helps identify the industries that are more specialized in an area. Businesses that are more specialized due to exporting goods and services, or because they draw customers in from outside the state, are important sources of new income for an area. A high LQ for an industry indicates that it is more specialized, and employment is more concentrated for that industry in the state compared to the United States. This could be because that industry is more export-oriented or is drawing customers into the state. Data for 2023 show some of the highest concentrated industries in Missouri are in Manufacturing, Management of Companies and Enterprises, Finance and Insurance, and Wholesale Trade.
Occupational Spotlight: Computer Programmers
Computer programmers write, modify, and test code and scripts that allow computer software and applications to function properly. Programmers usually work in office settings, most commonly in the computer systems design and related services industry. Computer programmers typically need a bachelor’s degree to enter the occupation. Most programmers specialize in several programming languages. The median annual wage for computer programmers in the U.S. in 2023 was $99,700. In Missouri, the nearly 3,000 computer programmers in the state had a median wage of $75,010.
Federal Reserve Eighth District Beige Book
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis recently released the Eighth District Beige Book, which is a summary of economic conditions based on mostly qualitative information gathered within the district, including employment, wages, real estate, crop conditions, and banking conditions. Economic activity across the Eighth District, which includes much of Missouri, has increased slightly, a continuation of trends reported over the past few months. The report found wage growth was moderating, employment was steady, and banking conditions were stable, while manufacturing activity increased moderately.
WIOA Demographics by County
The latest demographic data, such as educational attainment, gender, age, race, and ethnicity, are available for Missouri and its counties. The easy-to-use Excel file format includes data for each county for 44 demographic factors and is formatted with a separate tab showing the counties by Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) region.
Back-to-School Shopping 2024
The back-to-school season is among the most significant shopping events for consumers and retailers, second only to the winter holidays, according to the National Retail Federation. Nationally, consumers plan to spend $38.8 billion on back-to-school shopping and $86.6 billion on college purchases in 2024. From August 2-4, 2024, Missouri hosts a sales tax holiday to help families with certain back-to-school purchases.
June 2024 Job Postings
In the second quarter of 2024, employers advertised for a wide variety of jobs in Missouri. Throughout the state, there were more than 184,000 online job postings from April 2024 to June 2024. Posted occupations in demand 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 Occupational Therapists and Project Management Specialists. See the top posted occupations and employers with the most openings in this interactive regional dashboard.
June 2024 Job Postings Comparison
There were more than 58,000 job postings in Missouri in June 2024, a decrease of 12 percent compared to June 2023. Health Care and Social Assistance was the industry with the most postings during the month.
Missouri Cities Recognized in Best Performing Cities Report
The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities report ranks cities of a similar size on measures such as job and wage growth and affordability. In the 2024 update, Missouri’s own Jefferson City and Cape Girardeau MO-IL metropolitan statistical areas ranked among the top 50 small cities in the nation. The two cities were also among the top five cities to gain in ranking compared to the 2023 report.
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.