Health & Fitness
Mass Layoffs, Foreclosures Hit St. Louis
Daily economic news seems to be hurting more people across the St. Louis region than in other areas of Missouri.
Whether it is the latest mass layoff notice or foreclosure activity data, the daily economic news seems to be hurting more people across the St. Louis region than in other areas of Missouri.
Out of five mass layoff notices filed in the state so far this month, nearly half of all the workers who now need new jobs are from the St. Louis area.
Coventry Health Care Inc. plans to layoff 85 in Chesterfield, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing. The WARN Act requires employers to give a 60-day notice in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs.
Find out what's happening in St. Peterswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Last week, Sears Holding Corp. filed a notice to layoff 102 at its department store in Crestwood.
Out of plans to layoff 376 workers statewide, 187 jobs are being eliminated in the St. Louis region.
Find out what's happening in St. Peterswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
It is not just St. Louis, however.
The job market has weakened statewide.
As Missouri Journal has reported, Missouri ranked as the state with the highest, statistically significant, month-over-month drop in employment, losing 11,800 jobs during December.
Plus, the state needs to gain 161,000 jobs to get back to the pre-recession employment level.
Nonfarm payrolls have dropped in Missouri during five of the last six months, finishing the year 0.1 percent below year-ago levels, according to a research report by BMO Capital Markets Economics.
Foreclosure activity increases
The percentage of foreclosure filings also increased faster in Missouri than the national average.
Foreclosure activity — including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – increased 13.6 percent during January, according to new research released by RealtyTrac Inc.
Nationally, foreclosure activity increased 3 percent last month compared to December.
Once again, the St. Louis region was hit the hardest.
St. Louis County had the highest number of new foreclosures in the state at 669.
The city of St. Louis had 282, St. Charles County had 206, and Jefferson County had 134.
How did the St. Louis region compare to other areas across Missouri?
Visit Missouri Journal for an online interactive map of statewide foreclosure activity.
By Brian R. Hook, brhook@missourijournal.com, (314) 482-7944
Hook is editor of Missouri Journal, which tracks the economy across the state.