By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – State economic development officials say new employment figures released this week show Missouri on the upswing.
The U.S. Labor Department ranked Missouri number one in the nation for job growth between May and June.
Unemployment was also up, but only by a tenth of a percent.
State economic development chief Kelvin Simmons said that's because more Missourians have decided to look for a job.
"You've got people who were in the unemployment field, who are now looking at this good information saying 'we're seeing job growth in the state of Missouri, we may have been discouraged at one time. We're now going to actively seek employment,' therefore becoming part of the system," Simmons said.
Simmons said relatively low state taxes and a good education system are responsible for the job growth.