By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, Mo. – A miscalculation by state economic analysts means Missouri's economic picture for the summer is brighter than originally thought.
The state's job report for July showed it led the nation in percentage of lost jobs, at 1.9 percent. The loss of nearly 52,000 positions also led the country in terms of total jobs that disappeared.
But now, it seems, that wasn't really the case. Missouri's job loss figures have been revised to show a loss of 23,000 jobs from June to July, and could be revised further.
The change? Missouri analysts had been counting public school teachers among those without a job in summer months. But the federal Labor Department's policy is to count them as employed because they have a job and will return to it in the fall.