Trendsights Newsletter

Occupational Outlook: Electrical Line Installers and Repairers
Electrical power-line installers and repairers install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. Electrical power-line installers and repairers encounter serious hazards on the job, including working with high-voltage electricity, often at great heights. The work also can be physically demanding. Most electrical power-line installers and repairers work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. The median wage for this occupation in Missouri was $39.51 an hour and $82,180 annually in 2022.
Online Job Postings for January 2024
There were 67,240 new job postings in Missouri in January 2024, according to data from Lightcast™. This was higher than the 56,520 postings in December 2023. The St. Louis region had 1,700 Manufacturing industry job postings in January 2024, followed by the Kansas City (1,060), Central (300), North (260), and Southwest (180) regions. Click on the link above to view more job postings for Missouri and its regions.
Career Pathways: Information Technology
Career Pathways are groups of occupations within a career field. Occupations within a pathway share common skills, knowledge, and interests. The pathways use industry- recognized credentials and are examples of how different levels of training or education can help provide opportunities for career advancement. Most Information Technology occupations require proven skills beyond a high school diploma. A variety of pathways are available to enter and advance in the Information Technology field. Some industry-recognized certifications that may launch a career in Information Technology, such as CompTIA or Microsoft Technology Associate, may be obtained in as little as three months. Explore some of the possible pathways in this brief.
Language Use in Missouri
It is valuable to track language diversity in Missouri to help inform the public, businesses, agencies, organizations, and other stakeholders of the unique language diversity across the state. Ninety-four percent of Missouri residents speak only English. The remaining six percent have a primary language other than English but include those who are fluent in English and those who have limited proficiency in English. The percentage of the population who speak a language other than English varies by county across the state.
Career Pathways: Energy Solutions
Career Pathways are groups of occupations within a career field. Occupations within a pathway share common skills, knowledge, and interests. In the Energy Solutions industry, skills such as mathematics, science, and the ability to use critical and analytical thinking are important. Safety and quality control issues and understanding environmental laws and regulations are also critical parts of this industry. Click on the above link to learn more about these career pathways and opportunities.
Middle Skills: Construction Occupations
Almost four out of five Construction and Extraction jobs are middle-skilled. The top three middle-skill Construction and Extraction occupations with the most projected annual openings are Carpenters, Electricians, and First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers. These three occupations combined are projected to have over 4,700 annual job openings through 2030.
December Job Postings 2022-2023 Comparison
Job postings decreased 13 percent from December 2022 to December 2023. In December 2023, there were 56,520 online job postings compared to 64,860 in December 2022. The seasonally adjusted December 2023 unemployment rate of 3.3 percent in Missouri was higher than the November 2023 rate of 3.2 percent and the December 2022 rate of 2.7 percent. Job postings have decreased and the unemployment rate has increased during the last several months.
Missouri Small Business Profile
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 2023 Small Business Profile, Missouri has more than 548,000 small businesses in the state that employ 1.1 million workers. A total of 6,057 identified firms exported goods worth $14.6 billion from Missouri in 2021. Of those exporters, 5,116 — or 84.5 percent — were small businesses. Learn more about small businesses in Missouri in this SBA profile.
Middle Skill Production Occupations
Over nine out of every ten Production jobs are middle-skilled. The Production occupation group is closely linked to the Manufacturing industry. The top three middle-skill Production occupations with the most projected annual openings are Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers, and Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers. These three occupations combined are projected to have more than 5,750 total openings in Missouri each year through 2030.
Missouri County GDP 2022
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by county shows the contribution of each county to the state’s total GDP and economy. St. Louis County contributed more than $88 billion in GDP in 2022. Data in the interactive dashboard shows GDP by county in both real dollars (adjusted for inflation) and current dollars (not adjusted for inflation), as well as trends over time.
December Job Postings
There were 56,520 new job postings in Missouri in December 2023, according to data from Lightcast™. This was higher than the 54,900 postings in November 2023. The St. Louis region had 1,360 Manufacturing industry job postings in December 2023, followed by the Kansas City (650), Central (270), North (160), and Southwest (140) regions. Click on the link above to view more job postings for Missouri and its regions.
Missouri Population 2023
Missouri’s population totaled nearly 6.2 million in 2023, according to recently released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The state’s population increased by 18,988 (0.3%) from 2022 to reach a total of 6,196,156. Nationwide, the population increased by 0.5 percent. At the state level, 42 states and the District of Columbia had an increase in population over the year.
Career Pathways: Education
Career Pathways are groups of occupations within a career field. Occupations within pathways share common skills, knowledge, and interests. In the Education sector, most employees interact with students and others on a daily basis, so being able to communicate effectively, both individually and in groups, is necessary. From Office Support to Instructors and Administrators, there are a variety of job opportunities in the Education sector. Click on the above link to learn more about these career pathways and opportunities.
Middle Skills Top Openings
Middle-skill occupations require more education and training than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree. The middle-skill occupations with the most total job openings from 2020 to 2030 are Restaurant Cooks, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers, and Nursing Assistants. These three occupations are projected to have over 16,000 job openings per year combined through 2030. While the average annual wage for all middle-skill occupations is $47,836, some middle-skill occupations earn considerably more. The middle-skill occupation with the highest average annual wage was Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers, with an average annual wage of over $100,000.
Middle-Skills Jobs Report
Middle-skill occupations are essential to Missouri’s workforce, accounting for 40 percent of all jobs. These occupations require more education and training than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree. Middle-skill occupations are projected to account for over 124,000 annual job openings from 2020 to 2030, representing 35.4 percent of all job openings during the period. Read more about middle-skill occupations and explore the occupational groups with the largest percentage of jobs in this series of reports.
Winter Holiday Outlook Fun Facts 2023
This holiday season, 6 in 10 shoppers did not plan to complete their purchases until December. Total holiday spending is forecasted to be more than $957 billion, with with over $29 billion spent on gift cards alone. See this and other fun facts for travel plans, shipping, spending, and Christmas trees in this quick winter holiday outlook.
Career Pathways Reports
Career Pathways are groups of occupations within a career field. Occupations within a pathway share common skills, knowledge, and interests. Workers can progress along a pathway by continuing to build skills and education throughout their careers. Each of these Career Pathways reports show possible pathways within 11 key industries in Missouri, including occupations that can be started soon with short-term on-the-job training to those that require additional certificates or credentials.
Gross Domestic Product Updates
The broadest measure of economic activity is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Gross Domestic Product by State (GSP) measures the value-added from industries in a state. Missouri ranked 21st nationally in GSP in 2022 at $336.63 billion in inflation-adjusted (chained 2017) dollars. This total represented a 2 percent increase from 2021 to 2022. Nationally, inflation-adjusted GDP increased 1.9 percent over the same period. Visit the GDP Data Series page at the link above for dashboards of GDP for Missouri, along with its regions, metropolitan statistical areas, and counties.
Job Postings Comparison October 2023
Job postings decreased by 29 percent from October 2022 to October 2023. In October 2023, there were 80,480 online job postings compared to 57,220 in October 2022. The October 2023 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.1 percent in Missouri was higher than the unemployment rate of 2.7 percent a year ago.
Missouri Manufacturing Dashboard
Manufacturing is a major component of Missouri’s $389.9 billion economy. Manufacturing accounts for 11.6 percent of the state’s private sector employment, with 282,255 jobs across 7,636 establishments. Manufacturing wages continue to grow statewide and nationally. Missouri’s 2022 manufacturing payroll totaled $19.1 billion, with an average annual wage of $67,575. This Missouri Manufacturing dashboard shows information about manufacturing employment and wage trends for Missouri and its counties, along with details about Missouri’s’ manufacturing exports.
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 2020-2030 is 11.05 percent, while the statewide average growth rate for all occupations is 7.3 percent. By 2030, the total employment for STEM and STEM-Related occupations is expected to be more than 433,000, an increase of over 43,000 jobs.
Thanksgiving Fun Facts
Nearly 9 in 10 Americans plan to eat turkey on Thanksgiving this year, gobbling up 46 million turkeys. Missouri produced 18 million turkeys in 2023 and was ranked in the top five for turkey production in the nation. Learn more fun facts about Thanksgiving and Missouri’s contribution to the main course at the link above.
Cost of Living Third Quarter 2023
Missouri had the sixth lowest cost of living in the United States for the third quarter of 2023. 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 third quarter 2023 was 88.3.
State-to-State Migration
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released estimates of the number of people moving between the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and movement to the United States from abroad. Kansas and Illinois were the states where the largest number of Missouri residents moved from and moved to during the year. See data for all 50 states in this new release.