Counties with the highest unemployment in Missouri

The first jobs report fully under the new Trump administration showed a softening job market, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.1% in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released March 7.

Job growth increased but fell below expectations, one of several possible fissures appearing in the once rock-solid labor market. Businesses are pulling back on hiring as the economic forecast and policy outlook grow murkier due to volatile trade policies and large cuts to the federal workforce.

Federal government employment fell by 10,000 in February, pushing up total cuts to the federal workforce. In the first two months of 2025, 62,530 federal workers were let go. However, the most recent cuts, including the Department of Education's workforce getting slashed by nearly half, have not yet appeared in official jobs data. Retail employment also fell by 6,000.

The broader unemployment index, known as the U-6, which also includes laborers working part-time because they can't find full-time work, and those who want to work but have given up searching, rose to 8%, its highest since October 2021.

To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Missouri, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in January 2025, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Key takeaways: Jobs report shows softening labor market

February's job growth of 151,000 fell below economists' expected gains of 160,000, showing the labor market is cooling faster than predicted. Experts say many companies weighing policy changes and economic uncertainty are deciding it's safer to hold off on hiring decisions for now.

"If you were a company and you were saying, 'I'm looking to expand, or I'm looking to hire,' you would have investors in those companies saying, 'Are you crazy?'" Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist at Lightcast, told Marketplace.

Consumer spending fell in January for the first time in two years, which may have led to layoffs or hiring slowdowns, Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, told NBC News.

The big story: From bold promises to frozen labor market

After an initial market pop following Trump's electoral win, indexes have slumped to below when he took office, and uncertainty about the future of the markets is a common theme. Are threatened tariffs in place, delayed, reversed, or ramped up? Has that federal worker been fired or given their job back? Are those federal dollars slashed or reinstated? It's a question mark that changes daily.

Research shows that uncertainty invites lower investment, slows employment, and increases financial market volatility. The word "uncertain" showed up 47 times in the March edition of the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve's snapshot of reports from across the nation, compared to 17 times in the previous report from January.

The new administration's blitz of executive orders and trade policy waffling have cast a dense fog over the short-term economic outlook. One thing that is known? Uncertainty isn't good for business planning, job creation, or hiring.

In a March 12 interview with Semafor, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon noted that average consumers likely don't change "what they're going to do because they read about tariffs," but "companies might."

"Uncertainty is not a good thing," Dimon added.

To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Missouri.

47. St. Louis city (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 156,069 people (7,137 unemployed)

47. Texas County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,313 people (472 unemployed)

47. Ralls County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,251 people (242 unemployed)

47. Marion County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,879 people (592 unemployed)

41. Barry County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,632 people (682 unemployed)

41. Howell County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,576 people (771 unemployed)

41. St. Clair County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,147 people (194 unemployed)

41. Mercer County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,560 people (74 unemployed)

41. Miller County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,660 people (590 unemployed)

41. Montgomery County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,966 people (282 unemployed)

37. Adair County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,042 people (528 unemployed)

37. McDonald County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,869 people (429 unemployed)

37. Monroe County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,004 people (191 unemployed)

37. Oregon County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,594 people (172 unemployed)

32. Stoddard County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,744 people (620 unemployed)

32. Reynolds County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,515 people (123 unemployed)

32. Pike County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,187 people (352 unemployed)

32. Clinton County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,580 people (515 unemployed)

32. Lewis County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,342 people (214 unemployed)

29. Wright County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,774 people (390 unemployed)

29. Dallas County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1-month change: +1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,249 people (359 unemployed)

29. St. Francois County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 28,291 people (1,415 unemployed)

26. New Madrid County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,463 people (378 unemployed)

26. Warren County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: +2.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,622 people (994 unemployed)

26. Carroll County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,212 people (214 unemployed)

24. Caldwell County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +2.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,237 people (220 unemployed)

24. Macon County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,466 people (334 unemployed)

19. Iron County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,994 people (211 unemployed)

19. Butler County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,241 people (915 unemployed)

19. Knox County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,612 people (85 unemployed)

19. Laclede County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,498 people (868 unemployed)

19. Madison County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,391 people (288 unemployed)

18. Carter County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,199 people (119 unemployed)

15. Crawford County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,632 people (536 unemployed)

15. Dunklin County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,084 people (678 unemployed)

15. Ripley County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: +1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,725 people (263 unemployed)

13. Pemiscot County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,814 people (334 unemployed)

13. Lincoln County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: +2.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 33,412 people (1,908 unemployed)

11. Morgan County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,783 people (513 unemployed)

11. Washington County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.8%
--- 1-month change: +1.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,892 people (574 unemployed)

10. Ray County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.9%
--- 1-month change: +2.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,758 people (699 unemployed)

9. Mississippi County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6%
--- 1-month change: +1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,063 people (243 unemployed)

8. Camden County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,945 people (1,164 unemployed)

7. Shannon County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,786 people (179 unemployed)

6. Benton County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: +1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,329 people (473 unemployed)

5. Wayne County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: +2.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,869 people (254 unemployed)

4. Ozark County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,298 people (240 unemployed)

3. Hickory County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.6%
--- 1-month change: +3.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,780 people (212 unemployed)

2. Stone County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.6%
--- 1-month change: +4.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,050 people (1,206 unemployed)

1. Taney County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 11.3%
--- 1-month change: +7.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 25,727 people (2,915 unemployed)

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Ben Popken, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.