A surge in the labor force caused the St. Louis unemployment rate to spike 60 basis points from the previous months to 6.0 percent. This is still an improvement of 150 basis points from the previous year. The labor force increased by 3.4 percent year-over-year; its largest change since 1995 and an encouraging sign that more workers are available in the local labor force.

1. 0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
1,220,000
1,240,000
1,260,000
1,280,000
1,300,000
1,320,000
1,340,000
1,360,000
1,380,000
1,400,000
1,420,000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Total Employment
Unemployment
Office real estate implications
Office employment trends (12-month change)
St. Louis
Job growth/loss by sector (12-month change)
St. Louis
Office-occupying employment has taken a pause. After 25 consecutive
months of annual gains, the four sectors have contracted the last two months.
Government remained the laggard in the category, contracting by 3,000 jobs
from the prior year. Employment in the sector is down 24 percent since its
peak in 2010.
The most notable news this month was the announcement from World Wide
Technology (WWT) to build a new 200,000 square foot corporate
headquarters in Westport. WWT joins other St. Louis-based companies in
owning real estate. Most recently RGA completed its new corporate campus in
Chesterfield. The company plans on adding 1,000 jobs locally, a 25 percent
increase from its current level. There are also plans for a new building on the
Delmar Gardens campus in West County; but it will require some pre-leasing
from office tenants before breaking ground.
Total jobs vs. Unemployment rate
St. Louis
Sources: JLL Research, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Peak: 1,385,303 jobs
3.1%
Office employment update
Metro St. Louis . April 2015
6.0%St. Louis unemployment
0.7%St. Louis 12-month job growth
5.5%U.S. unemployment
2.3%U.S. 12-month job growth
• A surge in the labor force caused the St. Louis unemployment rate to
spike 60 basis points from the previous months to 6.0 percent. This is still
an improvement of 150 basis points from the previous year. The labor
force increased by 3.4 percent year-over-year; its largest change since
1995 and an encouraging sign that more workers are available in the
local labor force.
• Leisure and hospitality led all sectors in annual job growth, adding 3,200
jobs. Heading into the summer months is when employment in the sector
begins to ramp up.
• Hiring in professional and business services took a step back this month,
posting a year-over-year decline in employment for the first time in 28
months. The sector has been among the leaders in job gains across the
region for the past two years.
• Total U.S. nonfarm employment increased by 126,000 jobs in March, the
lowest level since March 2013, and well below economist forecasts of
244,000 jobs. Downward revisions were also made to the January and
February figures, totaling 69,000 jobs.
• U.S. unemployment was unchanged at 5.5 percent and wage growth
remained sluggish as average hourly earnings increased only 2.1 percent
year-over-year, far below the Fed’s goal of 3.5 percent or better.
(10)
(5)
0
5
10
15
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Financial Activities Professional and Business Services Information Government
(3,000)
(600)
(200)
400
400
700
2,100
2,900
2,900
3,200
-4,000 0 4,000
Government
Professional & Business Services
Mining, Logging & Construction
Other Services
Financial Activities
Information
Manufacturing
Trade, Transportation & Utilities
Educational & Health Services
Leisure & Hospitality

2. Delmar Gardens Enterprises | Medical offices: Expanding
Delmar Gardens Enterprises is adding a third office building to its campus on North Outer 40 Road in Chesterfield. The $30 million building has an asking rate of $32
per square foot, and construction will begin once 60 percent of the planned 125,000 square feet are leased. Delmar Gardens operates nursing facilities, assisted
and independent living communities, and Med Resources medical equipment company, employing 2,697 in the St. Louis area and 4,012 company-wide.
LaunchCode | Job placement: Expanding
St. Louis startup LaunchCode is looking to expand nationally, with an eye on Philadelphia, Baltimore, Denver, and a location on the West Coast. The company has
helped over 140 computer programmers find jobs in LaunchCode’s 300 partner companies. In 2014, the startup opened an office in Miami, using a $1.25 million
grant from The Knight Foundation. Each new branch is expected to cost the same.
LemnaTec | Biotechnology: Expanding
Germany-based biotechnology company LemnaTec is expanding globally with $5.4 million from Anterra Capital of Amsterdam. LemnaTec sells the hardware and
software needed to take digital pictures of plants. The company was among the first tenants in the Cambridge Innovation Center of Cortex’s @4240 building in 2014.
LockerDome | Social Media: Expanding
Social media platform LockerDome is creating 23 jobs in engineering, marketing, and support to launch its new advertising platform in April. Two of the jobs are in
New York City, and the remaining are in St. Louis. In 2014, the company expanded from 28 to 25 employees, and they expect to have 50 or more by the third
quarter this year. Cultivation Capital is investing $10 million in LockerDome’s expansion.
Newspaper Data Exchange LLC | Advertising: Contracting
Advertising is shifting from print to electronic, putting 28 employees of Newspaper Data Exchange LLC out of a job. NDX filed chapter 7 bankruptcy, citing insufficient
revenue to cover infrastructure costs. The LLC, headquartered at 1819 Clarkson Road, collected data on 7,100 newspapers for 24 advertising clients to develop
newspaper ads and inserts.
World Wide Technology | Technology : Expanding
World Wide Technology recently signed a letter of intent to build a new $60 million, 200,000 square-foot headquarters in Westport Plaza, near its current
headquarters. The company had explored moving to Edwardsville, Illinois, near its Metro East Lakeview Technology Center. The headquarters expansion will add
1,000 payrolls to the current 4,000 World Wide Technology employees in Westport Plaza.
JLL Americas Research • St. Louis Office Employment Update 2
Employment statistics
St. Louis
Industry employment stratification
St. Louis
Blaise Tomazic
Senior Research Analyst
tel +1 314 261 7377
Blaise.Tomazic@am.jll.com
211 N. Broadway
Suite 2075
St. Louis, MO 63102
www.jll.com/stlouis
Robert Kramp
Senior Vice President – Americas
Midwest & Great Lakes Research Director
tel +1 312 228 2470
Robert.Kramp@am.jll.com
200 East Randolph Street
47th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
www.us.jll.com/research
News on the street
St. Louis businesses expanding, contracting, etc.
© 2015 Jones Lang LaSalle IP, Inc. All rights reserved.
All information contained herein is from sources deemed
reliable; however, no representation or warranty is made
to the accuracy thereof.
February 2013 February 2014 February 2015
Total Non-farm
Employment
1,282,900 1,289,300 1,298,100
0.6% 0.5% 0.7%
Unemployment Rate 7.9% 8.0% 6.0%
St. Louis Supersectors February 2013 February 2014 February 2015
Mining, Logging & Construction 52,400 1.9% 52,100 -0.6% 51,900 -0.4%
Manufacturing 110,500 0.2% 111,200 0.6% 113,300 1.9%
Trade, Transportation, & Utilities 240,200 0.5% 243,200 1.2% 246,100 1.2%
Information 29,200 -4.3% 28,100 -3.8% 28,800 2.5%
Financial Activities 84,100 1.3% 84,600 0.6% 85,000 0.5%
Professional & Business Services 190,800 2.3% 198,400 4.0% 197,800 -0.3%
Educational & Health Services 235,000 -0.3% 230,100 -2.1% 233,000 1.3%
Leisure & Hospitality 131,900 2.8% 132,800 0.7% 136,000 2.4%
Other Services 45,400 0.7% 44,400 -2.2% 44,800 0.9%
Government 163,400 -1.4% 164,400 0.6% 161,400 -1.8%
Trade, transportation and
Utilities, 246,100, 19%
Educational and Health
Services, 233,000, 18%
Professional and
Business Services,
197,800, 15%
Government, 161,400,
12%
Leisure and Hospitality,
136,000, 11%
Manufacturing, 113,300,
9%
Financial Activities,
85,000, 7%
Mining, Logging and
construction, 51,900, 4%
Other Services, 44,800,
3%
Information, 28,800, 2%