JEFFERSON CITY – The Southeast Region workforce had more than 158,100 employees in 2024, making up 5.2 percent of Missouri’s employment.
Health Care and Social Assistance was the largest employing industry in the region in 2024, with employment totaling nearly 32,000.
Retail Trade was the second largest industry, followed by Manufacturing and Educational Services.
The Southeast Region is comprised of 13 counties in the southeast portion of Missouri.
The region is home to several cities including Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Caruthersville, and Park Hills.
The Southeast Region workforce had more than 158,100 employees in 2024, making up 5.2 percent of Missouri’s employment.
In 2024, 51.7 percent of the workforce was female and 48.3 percent was male, while the Missouri average was 50.1 percent female and 49.9 percent male workers in the workforce.
The regional average unemployment rate in 2024 was 4.1 percent, compared to 3.7 percent for Missouri and 4.0 percent for the nation.
The workforce is getting older in the Southeast Region, a trend continuing throughout Missouri and the U.S. In 2023, 23.9 percent of the workforce was age 55 or older, up from 20 percent a decade earlier. It was 23.5 percent for Missouri and 24.1 percent for the nation. For the region, 11.8 percent of the workforce was non-white and 2.9 percent was Hispanic or Latino. This compares to the state averages of 18.1 percent non-white and 5.1 percent Hispanic or Latino. In the Southeast Region, 3.2 percent of the region’s population (ages 18 to 64) speaks a language other than English at home. By comparison, Missouri was at 7.4 percent and the U.S. was at 23.8 percent. The Southeast Region has a higher percentage of the population with a disability compared to the state and the nation. For the Southeast Region, 17.0 percent of the population has a disability compared to 12.6 percent in Missouri and 10.7 percent in the U.S.
These are a few of the findings in the Southeast Economic and Workforce Report 2025.
Click here for the complete report:
Missouri Economic and Workforce Report – 2025 Annual Economic Report_Southeast