Jobless Claims Dip, but Picture Far From Pretty

Just more than 2.4 million filed unemployment claims during the week ended May 16, which was an improvement of 249,000 from the prior week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

However, with that addition there have been about 39 million jobless claims since the outbreak of COVID-19, and the insured unemployment rate is currently at 17.2 percent.

Kansas had 11,779 claims, down from 12,234 the prior week. Missouri was at 26,029, down from 31,145.

In some good news, Missouri was one of the top five states with a decrease in week-over-week claims over the period ending May 9, falling by 21,382.