Missouri governor says job market rebounding from COVID-19 losses
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson touted the state's economic recovery from COVID-19 on Thursday, saying tens of thousands of employees returned to work in May.
About 34,000 people returned to work in May after furloughs and layoffs in April as stay-at-home orders stalled the state's economy, Parson said.
Watch a replay of the briefing in the player below.
"While we still have a lot of work to do, this is a good sign and shows that we are already making progress," Parson said.
The Missouri Department of Economic Development in a news release Thursday said the state's April unemployment rate was revised upward. Because of the change the state showed a small lowering in the rate in May.
The April rate was revised from the 9.7 percent originally reported to 10.2 percent, the department said. The change happened because "revisions were made to the seasonal adjustment factors for statewide employment and unemployment estimates by the (federal) Bureau of Labor Statistics," the department said.
May's unemployment rate was 10.1 percent, the department said, creating a 0.1 percent drop between April and May.
However, the department said the May rate was still more than three times higher than the May 2019 figure. Total employment is down by about 260,000 jobs for the year, the department said.
Parson said in response to a question that state leaders were initially skeptical of the 9.7 percent number.
"Matter of fact I'll be honest with you, we thought it would be worse than that," Parson said, referring to the 0.5 points gained in the revision. The state remains below the national average for unemployment even with the revision, he said.
Parson also praised a plan by Ranken Technical College to open a campus in eastern Missouri's Lincoln County. The campus will provide job training in areas such as agriculture, advanced manfucturing, renewable energy and building and construction trades.
The college is in talks with Ashland leaders to create a campus there, as well.
Parson said the state can focus on Missourian's safety while still stimulating the economy.
More details released on state fair
Parson and Missouri Agriculture Director Chis Chinn provided more details on this year's Missouri State Fair, which is scheduled for Aug. 13-23.
Chinn said the only major feature of the fair that will be missing this year is the concert lineup. The livestock shows, carnival and camping are still set to take place, Chinn said.
The fair will step up its sanitation and cleaning procedures, Chinn said. She said the state wants all fairgoers to "feel safe and welcome."
Money for mental health
Mark Stringer, director of the state's Department of Mental Health, said the state has received a $2.3 million FEMA grant for a crisis counseling program to deal with the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The money will establish a program called Show Me Hope that is accessible to any Missouri resident struggling with mental health problems because of the pandemic at no charge.
The state is also contributing $100,000 from federal CARES Act funding to set up a crisis counseling program in St. Louis, which has been the state's hardest hit area, Stringer said. Three-fourths of COVID-19 deaths statewide have occurred in the St. Louis area, he said.
