Polk County, MO jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Polk County’s unemployment rate is 3.1%. No layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 1 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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Polk County economy

3.1%
unemployment, Sep 2026
3.5% the month before
15,141
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
32,109
people in Polk County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$56,686
median household income
Source: Census ACS
34%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Polk County outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

Private-sector jobs down 6.5% from 2022 to 2025
Population up 6.3% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 3.1%, down 0.4 points from a year ago
Sectors losing the most jobs: manufacturing (−665 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in Polk County. Each link goes to the publisher.

Springfield longstanding business to close this November after nearly 80 yearsKYTV on MSN · Nov 4, 2026
23 dental office closures in 2026Becker's Dental Review · Nov 4, 2026
6 dental office closures in 40 daysBecker's Dental Review · Oct 14, 2026

Learn and get funded in Polk County

Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.

Polk County layoffs

No layoff notices naming Polk County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Polk County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

Liberty Utilities1 open role

Colleges in Polk County

Colleges in Polk County
College	City	Type	Students
Southwest Baptist University	Bolivar	Private non-profit 4-year	1,000–4,999

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Polk County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Missouri? How to file for unemployment in Missouri (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

Ozark Region Workforce Development Board
Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, Stone, Taney, Webster

Cities in Polk County

Bolivar1 jobs

Other Missouri counties

All of Missouri

Laid off or looking for work in Polk County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Missouri’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Missouri unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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