Trendsights Newsletter

City Populations 2023
Large cities in the Northeast and Midwest grew in 2023, reversing earlier population declines, according to Vintage 2023 Population Estimates recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Missouri had 13 cities with a population of 50,000 residents or more in 2023. Of those, Blue Springs had the largest population increase from July 1, 2022 to July 1, 2023 at 1.6 percent increase, followed by St. Peters (1.5 percent), Joplin (1.1 percent), St. Charles (0.8 percent), Lee’s Summit (0.7 percent), and Columbia (0.7 percent). Data for all Missouri cities can be found in this latest update from the Census Bureau.
Year-to-Year Job Ad Comparison: April 2024
Job postings decreased by 14 percent from April 2023 to April 2024. In April 2024, there were 62,310 online job postings compared to 72,750 in April 2023. Postings for Sales Representatives of Services more than doubled compared to last year, while postings for Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers had the largest decrease (-29%).
Occupational Outlook: Information Security Analyst
Information security analysts plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization’s computer networks and systems. Most information security analysts work for computer companies, consulting firms, or business and financial companies. Information security analysts typically need a bachelor’s degree in a computer science field, along with related work experience. The median annual wage for information security analysts in Missouri was $88,790 in 2022.
Quarterly Real-Time Summary Dashboard
Real-Time Labor Market Summaries for regions are now available in an interactive online dashboard. Data for this analysis has been extracted using Lightcast™, which collects information from over 35,000 web sources, including job boards, newspapers, and large and small employer websites. This dashboard replaces previous standalone reports to make updates more frequent and interactive, highlighting the industries, occupations, and employers with the most job postings in the quarter by region.
Agritourism in Missouri
Agritourism can take many forms, including farm tours, hayrides, hunting, fishing, and other recreational services. According to the Census of Agriculture, the number of agritourism operations in the United States remained stable over the past five years, while agritourism revenue grew 33 percent, from $949 million in 2017 to $1.25 billion in 2022.
Online Job Postings for April 2024
There were 62,310 new job postings in Missouri in April 2024, according to data from Lightcast™. This was lower than the 65,330 postings in March 2024. The St. Louis region had 1,610 manufacturing industry job postings in April 2024, followed by the Kansas City (810), Central (300), Ozark (280), North (200), and Southwest (170) regions. Click on the link above to view more job postings for Missouri and its regions.
Missouri's Fastest Growing Occupations
Missouri employment is projected to increase 2.3 percent between 2023 and 2025. Of the top 20 occupations in the state with the fastest growth rate, eight are in the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations group. The average wage for all occupations in 2022 was $54,520 in Missouri. See all of the 20 fastest growing occupations by 2025 in this list.
Mother's Day Fun Facts
According to the National Retail Federation, Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate women who play a meaningful role in our lives. Mother's Day spending is projected to reach $33.5 billion nationwide, with the average person spending $254.04. View this infographic for some facts and figures about how mothers and other loved ones will be honored on this special day.
March 2023 to 2024 Job Ad Comparison
Job postings in Missouri decreased by 14 percent from March 2023 to March 2024. In March 2024, there were 65,910 online job postings compared to 76,620 in March 2023. Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses had the largest increase (13%) compared to last year.
Missouri Short-term Industry Projections
New short-term industry projections for 2023-2025 have been released for Missouri, Kansas City, and St. Louis. In Missouri, the industry sectors with the largest projected employment growth are Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitals; and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services.
Missouri Top Openings
Missouri is projected to have more than 381,000 total job openings each year between 2023 and 2025. Total openings include growth openings, exit openings, and transfer openings. Of the 20 occupations with the top job openings in Missouri, most are in the major occupation groups of Food Preparation and Serving Related, Office and Administrative Support, and Transportation and Material Moving. The average wage for all occupations in Missouri in 2022 was $54,520.
Occupational Outlook: Home Health Aide
Home health and personal care aides monitor the condition of people with disabilities or chronic illnesses and help them with daily living activities. Home health and personal care aides work in a variety of settings, including clients’ homes, group homes, and day services programs. Home health and personal care aides typically need a high school diploma or equivalent, but some positions do not require it. In Missouri, the median annual wage for home health and personal care aides was $29,421 in 2023, with a total employment of 88,855.
In-Demand Information Technology Skills
Information Technology (IT) occupations are some of the most in-demand jobs in Missouri. Computer programming, developing, and support occupations employed more than 87,000 people at an average wage of $88,390 in 2022. Employment in IT occupations is projected to grow 14.2 percent from 2020 to 2030. In the last year, there were over 45,000 online job ads in Missouri for selected IT occupations, most noting the need for applicants to be proficient in various computer programming languages. Click on the link above to learn more about the skills needed for these in-demand occupations.
Missouri Short-term Occupational Projection 2023-2025
Missouri occupational projections for 2023-2025 estimate employment in the state to grow by 2.3 percent over the period. The occupational groups projected to have the fastest two-year growth rates are Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations, Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, and Healthcare Support Occupations.
Missouri Business Index Rises
Missouri’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for March was 53.8, increasing 7.2 points from February, according to the monthly Mid-America Business Conditions Survey conducted by Creighton University. The Mid-America Business Conditions Index has hovered around growth neutral for the past four months, gaining 0.5 points in March to 49.6. Economists consider the index a key economic indicator. It measures such factors as new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, import orders, and exports. Typically, a score over 50 indicates an expansionary economy while a score below 50 forecasts a sluggish economy.
Online Job Postings for March 2024
There were 65,910 new job postings in Missouri in March 2024, according to data from Lightcast™. This was higher than the 63,920 postings in February 2024. The St. Louis region had 1,500 manufacturing industry job postings in March 2024, followed by the Kansas City (860), Central (340), North (220), and Southwest (170) regions. Click on the link above to view more job postings for Missouri and its regions.
February Job Ad Comparison
Job postings in Missouri decreased by 9 percent from February 2023 to February 2024. In February 2024, there were 62,810 online job postings compared to 68,970 in February 2023. The industries with the most job postings were Health Care and Social Assistance, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services, and Retail Trade.
Middle Skills: Installation, Maintenance and Repair Occupations
The Installation, Maintenance, and Repair major occupation group has over 97 percent of its employment in middle-skill occupations. The top three occupations with the most projected annual openings in this group are General Maintenance and Repair Workers, Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics, and First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers. These three occupations combined are projected to have over 5,700 total job openings each year through 2030. Installation, Maintenance and Repair occupations are found in many industries, with 12.8 percent of employment being found in the Retail Trade industry.
Career Pathways: Hospitality
Career Pathways are groups of occupations within a career field. Occupations within a pathway share common skills, knowledge, and interests. The pathways show examples of how different levels of training or education can help provide opportunities for career advancement within an industry sector. Hospitality represents 12.3 percent of total private sector employment, employing over 297,000 workers in more than 15,000 businesses in 2022. Quality assurance, customer service, cost control, marketing, and sales, as well as knowledge of operations and procedures are some of the skills that may be necessary for success in the Hospitality pathway. Learn more about possible pathways in fields such as sales and marketing, food service, and entertainment in this report.
Census Releases 2023 County and Metro Population Estimates
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released 2023 population data for U.S. counties, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, and Puerto Rico. These estimates reflect population changes between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2023. In Missouri, the population of Lincoln County grew the fastest between 2020 and 2023, increasing by 8.1 percent. Other counties with above average growth rates included Wright (6.5%), Webster (6.3%), Benton (5.8%), Warren (5.8%), and Christian (5.8%). Dekalb County decreased by 14.7 percent, or 1,700 residents, during this time.
Missouri Businesses By Size
Tracking Missouri businesses by employment size can be used to identify which size of business employs the most people, how Missouri businesses range by the size of employment and average wages, and what is the typical size of businesses by industry. There were 217,818 private sector employers in Missouri in the first quarter of 2022. Small businesses comprised a majority of this total, with 79.8 percent of Missouri businesses employing fewer than 10 people. Firms employing 1 to 49 workers made up 96.4 percent of all businesses in Missouri.
MU Extension 4-H Agribusiness Workforce Survey
Missouri's agricultural, food, and forestry businesses are vital to the state’s economy. MU Extension requests your help sharing a workforce needs survey with agribusinesses in your area. Survey results will support Extension 4-H career initiatives designed to support the talent needs of these businesses. Please help us spread the word with Missouri agribusinesses – such as food producers and processors, sawmills, or related suppliers. The survey is quick, anonymous and will make a big difference. It is open through mid-April.
January 2023 to 2024 Job Ad Comparison
Job postings in Missouri decreased by 22 percent from January 2023 to January 2024. In January 2024, there were 67,240 online job postings compared to 86,240 in January 2023. The industries with the most job postings were Health Care and Social Assistance, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services, and Retail Trade.
Women in the Workforce
Women make up an important part of Missouri’s workforce. There were more than 1.39 million women in Missouri’s workforce (in both private- and public-owned establishments) in 2022, making up 50.5 percent of total Missouri employment. The percentage of women in the workforce has remained steady over the last 10 years. Occupations, the type of employment, and pay can vary for men and women. Learn more about women in Missouri's workforce in this report.