Unemployment Snapshot: A Look at the 10-Year Jobs Trend in Kirkwood

Unemployment data for the city of Kirkwood suggests the area's workforce has dropped to its lowest level in three years — at least through the first nine month of the year, the latest data available to cities of 25,000 or more.

Preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — not adjusted for seasonality — says Kirkwood's unemployment rate for 2011 to date averages about 6.4 percent (editor's note: Visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for more information about how unemployment data is collected.) In September, Missouri's unemployment rate stood at 8.7 percent — although that number is seasonally adjusted.

Since 2001, Kirkwood's highest annual unemployment rate was 7 percent in 2010. This year, monthly unemployment has hovered below that rate, dropping as low as 5.8 percent in April, but rising as high as 6.8 percent in June.

Monthly and annual unemployment rates in Kirkwood
(Through September, most recent month available) 

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor