ST. LOUIS — St. Louis fell a few spots in a ranking of 381 U.S. metro areas based on how hot their job markets are, while Kansas City saw its ranking rise.
The Wall Street Journal crunched data from Moody’s Analytics that examined five metrics: unemployment, labor force participation rate, job growth, labor force growth and wage growth, according to a Monday WSJ story. The final results divided scores among metros with more than 1 million people and those with fewer than that.
St. Louis dropped four spots from last year, to tie at No. 31 with San Diego-Carlsbad, California. The St. Louis metro area came in at No. 21 for labor force participation, at 66.3%, its highest ranking in the five metrics. The region came in at No. 25 for unemployment, at 3.4%.
Kansas City came in at No. 18, tied with Columbus, Ohio, and up from last year's ranking at No. 24. The KC area came in ninth for labor force participation at 68.8%, its highest ranking in the five metrics, and 20th for unemployment, at 3.2%.
Leading the way in the rankings of larger metros were two Southern cities experiencing rapid growth in tech jobs and offering vibrant music scenes.
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