JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Industries in the Show-Me State are forecast to grow by an average of 7.2 percent from 2016 to 2026, according to new long-term growth projections.
The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, in an effort funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, expects the economy to add 204,914 jobs in total increasing Missouri’s workforce to 3,045,202 by 2026.
The industries forecast to increase the most are: restaurants and eating places with 21,870 (10.70 percent) new jobs; individual and family services with 20,456 (35.34 percent) new jobs; computer systems design and related services with 14,423 (37.92 percent) new jobs; general merchandise stores with 8,486 (17.71 percent); and home health care services with 8,059 (38.29 percent) new jobs.
The office administrative service industry is projected to grow by the largest percentage increasing by 1.5 times its 2016 size. By adding 4,226 new positions, the industry would increase by 54.32 percent. Support activities for mining and facility supports services also industry to see large increases — 46.60 percent (89 jobs) and 45.69 percent (959 jobs), respectively.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, several industries are forecast to decline. Wired telecommunications carriers are projected to lose 3,865 (-31.20 percent) jobs; clothing stores are forecast to reduce by 3,539 (-23.33 percent) jobs; state government, excluding education and hospitals, is expected to downsize by 2,756 (-5.37 percent) positions; accounting, tax preparation, booking, and payroll services is expected to decline by 2,326 (-11.38 percent) jobs; and newspapers, periodical, book, and directory publishers are forecast to lose 2,191 (-24.84 percent) jobs.
Only two industries are expected to decline by more than 40 percent. Agents and managers for artists, athletes, entertainers, and other public figures is an industry forecast to decline by 43.55 percent (54 jobs) and the taxi and limousine service industry is project to reduce by 43.23 percent (383 jobs).
View the excel files for the State and Regional industry projections for Missouri.
Alisha Shurr was a reporter for The Missouri Times and The Missouri Times Magazine. She joined The Missouri Times in January 2018 after working as a copy editor for her hometown newspaper in Southern Oregon. Alisha is a graduate of Kansas State University.
