Missouri added 2,100 nonfarm payroll jobs in August while its unemployment rate fell from 3.6% to 3.5%, extending a year of stronger employment growth even as several major industries reduced payrolls during the month.

The latest state table from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows seasonally adjusted payroll employment rising from 3,013,600 in July to 3,015,700 in August. Missouri’s jobless rate was below the national rate of 4.1%.

The household survey also showed improvement. Missouri employment increased by 3,700 residents to nearly 3.057 million, while the number of unemployed residents fell by 1,100 to about 112,400. The labor force grew by 2,700, indicating that the lower unemployment rate coincided with more people entering or remaining in the workforce rather than being driven solely by departures.

Over the year, the state added 34,100 payroll jobs, a 1.1% increase. The BLS national release identified Missouri as one of eight states with a statistically significant year-over-year payroll gain. Unemployment declined from 4.0% in August 2025, a change of half a percentage point.

Construction produced the largest monthly increase, adding 2,200 jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities gained 1,100, other services added 600, and leisure and hospitality increased by 200. Financial activities added 200 jobs, while education and health services edged up by 100.

Those gains were partly offset by a 1,000-job decline in manufacturing, a 700-job loss in information, and reductions of 300 each in professional and business services and government. Mining and logging was unchanged, according to the BLS industry data.

The annual pattern was broader. Construction employment was 5.8% above its August 2025 level, leisure and hospitality grew 2.9%, and education and health services increased 1.7%. Manufacturing was down 0.2% from a year earlier, while government employment declined 0.5%.

The year-over-year gain moved total payrolls well above their August 2025 level of 2,981,600. Even so, the federal release classified the state’s monthly increase as essentially unchanged, meaning the 2,100-job rise was not large enough to distinguish statistically from ordinary sampling variation.

Missouri’s state dashboard explains that the payroll estimates come from a federal-state survey of business establishments. The unemployment rate comes from a separate household-based program, so the two measures answer different questions and may move differently in any given month.

The St. Louis Fed’s monthly series shows the jobless rate falling steadily from 3.9% in March to 3.5% in August. Both the household and payroll figures remain preliminary and are subject to revision as additional responses and administrative records become available.

For Missouri employers and workers, the August report signals continued statewide expansion, but not uniform strength. Construction led the gains, while manufacturing and information contracted, making the next monthly release important for determining whether those losses were temporary or part of a longer shift.