The unemployment rate in St. Joseph has dropped below 5-percent according to the latest data released Wednesday by the United States Department of Labor.

In August the Unemployment Rate in St. Joseph was 4.9, that’s a drop of .6 from July’s 5.5 rate.

In Missouri the state unemployment rate for August came in at 5.6. That’s a drop of .2 from July’s rate of 5.8. The number of unemployment claims filed in August in the state was 17,460.