At 10:00 a.m. today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the monthly Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment report:

METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT:  JANUARY 2009

Unemployment rates were higher in January than a year earlier in 371 of the 372 metropolitan areas and unchanged in 1 area, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Fourteen areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15.0 per-ent, while 23 areas registered rates below 5.0 percent.  The national unemployment rate in January was 8.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 5.4 percent a year earlier…

The numbers for Missouri:

LABOR FORCE DATA

NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED

Unemployed

Percent of labor force

Missouri

Jan. 2008 – 5.8%

Dec 2008 – 7.0%

Jan. 2009 – 8.7%

Cape Girardeau-Jackson

Jan. 2008 – 5.0%

Dec 2008 – 5.7%

Jan. 2009 – 6.9%

Columbia

Jan. 2008 – 4.3%

Dec 2008 – 4.6%

Jan. 2009 – 6.0%

Jefferson City

Jan. 2008 – 4.7%

Dec 2008 – 5.7%

Jan. 2009 – 7.3%

Joplin

Jan. 2008 – 4.7%

Dec 2008 – 5.7%

Jan. 2009 – 6.8%

Kansas City

Jan. 2008 – 5.3%

Dec 2008 – 6.5%

Jan. 2009 – 8.2%

St. Joseph

Jan. 2008 – 4.9%

Dec 2008 – 5.9%

Jan. 2009 – 7.8%

St. Louis

Jan. 2008 – 6.3%

Dec 2008 – 7.6%

Jan. 2009 – 9.1%

Springfield

Jan. 2008 – 4.6%

Dec 2008 – 6.2%

Jan. 2009 – 7.6%

[emphasis added]

The increases in unemployment across metropolitan areas of the state caused by this Bush Depression are stunning.