The number of Missouri's employed has reached a record high.
The state Department of Economic Development said Tuesday that nonfarm payroll employment hit a record high of more than 2.8 million in April. The state gained 15,000 jobs that month.
The agency says employment is up by 5,500 jobs compared with the previous February 2008 record.
The leisure and hospitality industry led job growth in April with about 7,200 new jobs.
At the same time, unemployment increased one-tenth of a percentage point in April to 4.3 percent, based on seasonally adjusted data. That's still under the national unemployment rate of 5 percent for April.
The Economic Development Department says Missouri's unemployment rate has been lower than the national rate for 23 months.
