Compared to April, there wasn't much to say about changes in the May job market in Missouri or Kansas.

But, compared to May 2010, there are some positives, as reported today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A year ago, according to seasonally adjusted employment and unemployment figures, the jobless rate in Missouri was 9.5 percent. It was down to 8.9 percent in May 2011.

A year earlier in Kansas, the unemployment rate was 7.1 percent. It shrank to 6.6 percent in May.

Those figures compare to the national unemployment rate average of 9.1 percent in May.

Here's what the better rates translate to in numbers:

There were 99,700 job hunters last month in Kansas, compared to 106,000 a year earlier, and 269,000 in Missouri, compared to 287,100.

The size of the labor force in both states grew over the year.