Unemployment in Missouri dropped slightly in May but was still nearly three times what it was before the coronavirus arrived.
Data released Thursday by the state Economic Development Department shows that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit 10.1% in May. That was down from 10.2% in April and was lower than the national May rate of 13.3%. It was higher than the state's 9.9% unemployment rate during the peak of the Great Recession. Unemployment was at 3.5% in February when the virus arrived.
Joblessness increased to 4.4% in March before it skyrocketed in April.