Trendsights Newsletter

County Average Wages
County average wage figures are derived from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, a cooperative program between the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development. These wages represent an average for all industries, both public and private.
Missouri First Quarter Cost of Living
Missouri had the 6th lowest cost of living in the United States for 2020. 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. For the past 13 quarters, Missouri has been in the top 10 for lowest cost of living in the nation.
Short-term Projections Now Available
The Office of Performance and Strategy and Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) have recently released short-term projections for Missouri, Kansas City and St. Louis. Did you know that the fastest growing occupation in Missouri is Personal Care Aides with projected growth of 4,388 jobs over the 3 year period, a 6.4% increase, and an average annual wage of $23,020? Click on the above link to access the entire list of short-term projections, or summaries of Top Openings and Fastest Growing Occupations.
Top Missouri 50 Employers
The annual Top 50 Private Sector Employer list has been updated through 2019. This list is based on the number of employees a business had during a selected quarter and is developed using a combination of Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data and InfoUSA collections.
WIOA County Demographics
The latest demographic data for 2018 is now available at the state, county, and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) region levels in an Excel file format. Click on the above link to download the data.
Burning Glass Report: Getting America Back to Work after the Pandemic
Burning Glass Technologies has released a report detailing trends in job ads during March and April, the time period when many workers became unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Burning Glass Technologies has identified jobs that employers are advertising now for near-term employment based on its database of more than a billion job postings and resumes worldwide.
Top Ten Cities with Lowest Cost of Living Includes Joplin Missouri 
The Cost of Living Index measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures. See a sneak peek of first quarter Cost of Living for the nation by clicking on the top link. 
Census New Business Formations and Pulse Surveys Will be Updated Weekly
The U.S. Census Bureau recognizes the need for accurate, real-time data on the U.S. population and economy during this COVID-19 pandemic. Census will release data weekly to understand how individuals and businesses are weathering the current crisis and provide data to assist in the decision-making processes of state and local communities.
Show Me Strong: Missouri's Recovery Plans
Missouri’s Show Me Strong Recovery Plan is based on four guiding principles: expanding testing capacity, expanding reserves of personal protective equipment (PPE), monitoring health care system capacity, and improving the ability to predict potential outbreaks in the state. Visit this website for guidelines, resources and frequently asked questions for businesses, communities and citizens as part of the strategic reopening of the economy.
Census 2020 Responses - Missouri Counties
Census results shape the future of communities, as census data informs how billions of dollars in federal funds are distributed for health clinics, school lunch programs, disaster recovery initiatives, and other critical programs and services for the next 10 years. The Census Bureau is challenging citizens to complete the census to help ensure a complete and accurate count in 2020. St. Charles County leads Missouri with a response rate of 76.2% followed by Christian County (73.2%) and Cass County (69.2%). Click on the above link to see the Missouri map and county response rates.
Occupational Handbook: Customer Service Representatives
Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and answer questions. Typical job training includes a high school diploma and on-the-job training. Common skills for customer service representatives are communication and computer skills. Customer service representatives in Missouri earn on average, $35,020.
Census New Business Formations and Pulse Surveys Will be Updated Weekly
The U.S. Census Bureau recognizes the need for accurate, real-time data on the U.S. population and economy during this COVID-19 pandemic. Census will release data weekly to understand how individuals and businesses are weathering the current crisis and provide data to assist in the decision-making processes of state and local communities.
Show Me Strong: Missouri's Recovery Plans
Missouri’s Show Me Strong Recovery Plan is based on four guiding principles: expanding testing capacity, expanding reserves of personal protective equipment (PPE), monitoring health care system capacity, and improving the ability to predict potential outbreaks in the state. Visit this website for guidelines, resources and frequently asked questions for businesses, communities and citizens as part of the strategic reopening of the economy.
Missouri and Regional Real-Time Labor Market Summaries
Missouri employers posted 173,074 job ads from January through March with 72% for full-time positions. St. Louis had the most job postings numbering 83,839. Click on the above link to see the summaries for the state and each region.
Occupational Handbook: Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives
Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. Missouri Average Annual wages for this occupation is $65,640. Click on the above link to learn more about this in-demand occupation.
C2ER Moves Annual Conference to Virtual Format
C2ER and the LMI Institute is moving their annual conference to a virtual format. Their Annual conference will provide new data tools, professional networking, and the latest information to help respond to the COVID-19 impacts on local economies and communities.
Regional MERIC Liason Contacts
The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) is the economic research and data section within the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development’s Office of Performance & Strategy. We provide innovative analyses and assistance to policymakers and the public, including studies of the state's economic trends, targeted industries, and labor markets. Click on the above link to find your Regional Liason.
Companies Retool Operations to Assist in Coronavirus Fight
As the pandemic puts nations on wartime footing, distillers concoct hand sanitizer, a car maker offers to assemble ventilators, a jeans factory switches to face masks. As businesses adapt and work to keep Missourians safe and healthy, several companies are hiring new workers.
Occupational Outlook: Registered Nurses
Registered nurses (RNs) provide and coordinate patient care and educate patients and the public about various health conditions. Registered nurses work in hospitals, physicians’ offices, home healthcare services, and nursing care facilities. Others work in outpatient clinics and schools. In Missouri, the annual average wages for Registered Nurses is $65,130.
Missouri Seeks Health Care Workers
As the State of Missouri continues to respond to the spread of COVID-19, a request has gone out for health care students, graduates, or any active members or retirees of the health care workforce to be a part of the Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team (MO DMAT-1). The Department of Public Safety created a web portal that allows Missourians to register and participate in MO DMAT-1. Individuals with backgrounds in the fields of medicine, nursing, allied health professions, dentistry, counseling, mental/behavioral health, and laboratory science are most essential to this team.
Short-term Industry Projections 2019-2020
Historic industry employment trends and other factors are analyzed to project future industry employment. Industry staffing patterns are then used to estimate occupational employment projections. Short-term Industry Projections are now available for Missouri and the Kansas City, and St. Louis regions. Click on the above link to access the Excel files.
Census 2020 Surveys Now Due
The 2020 Census is in progress! You can respond online, by phone, or by mail. Census results help determine how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into states and communities each year. The U.S. Census Bureau is bound by law to protect your answers and keep them strictly confidential. Responses are used to produce statistics used by researchers and policymakers. If you haven't completed your Census survey click on the link above for more information.
Now Available: SOC Codes for CISA Critical Infrastructure Workers
Over 80 million U.S. workers are employed in the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce battling COVID-19 based on a new research resource from the Labor Market Information (LMI) Institute and the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). In an effort to help workforce and labor market information professionals, as well as other state, community and economic researchers, the LMI Institute and C2ER has produced the following list of Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) codes connected to critical infrastructure and essential industries.
Covid19
COVID-19
Efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have impacted people and industries throughout Missouri and across the country. Employers and workers can find important information and resources to navigate this unprecedented time at https://jobs.mo.gov/covid-19-resources. Missouri Job Centers are closed to the public, but staff are assisting customers over the phone and online. This week, Job Center staff answered 3,000 calls per day, and diverted 2,000 calls per day from the UI call center. Staff are hosting virtual employment transition and hiring events and helping job seekers complete applications.