Great recession

In 2010 the civilian labor force of Osage County was comprised of 3,896 men and 3,058 women for a total of 6,954 persons in the force, an increase of 31.9 percent from 1980 (chart 3-13). The unemployment rate of the county in 1980 was 5.4 percent. Osage County is the only county within the Meramec Region that has experienced almost no change in the percentage of unemployed residents since 1990. Between 1980 and 1990 the unemployment rate dropped from 5.4 percent to 2.6 percent. In 2000 unemployment increased by a tenth of a percent and again in 2010 increased another tenth to 2.8 percent with 194 persons considered unemployed. The strongest argument to justify the consistently low unemployment rate is the county’s location near Jefferson City, with a large portion of the county population commuting to the capital for work. in 2010 with 402 persons considered unemployed. Chart 3-14 provides a graphic depiction of the unemployment rates from 1980 through 2010.

	Source: 1980, 1990, 2000 Census and 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-yr Estimates
	Source: 1980, 1990, 2000 Census and 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-yr Estimates

In 2010, 35.1 percent of those counted in the civilian noninstitutional population were not in the civilian labor force. This number is down by 4.4 percent from 1980. Notably, the percentage of males not in the labor force has increased since 1980 by 2.2 percent compared to the number of females not in the labor force decreasing by 11 percent during the same period (chart 3-15).

	Source: 1980, 1990, 2000 Census and 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-yr Estimates