Show Me Jobs report: Young firms created 44,000 jobs, drove majority of Missouri hiring in 2018
September 18, 2019 | Rashi Shrivastava
Startups created more than 44,000 jobs in Missouri in 2018, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all new jobs in the state, according to a new report from MOSourceLink.
The Show Me Jobs report is a broader version of a similar report focused on the Kansas City market. MOSourceLink, a nonprofit resource provider for entrepreneurs and small businesses across the state, compiled the report based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
“When we were able to tell people how many jobs were created by small firms in Kansas City, it really made a difference in terms of inspiring other people to think about entrepreneurship and to generate support for entrepreneurs in the community,” said Kate Hodel, who works on special projects for MOSourceLink.
Click here to read the full report.
The report defined startups as first-time employers that have fewer than 20 employees. It presented data related to job creation, wages and the industry concentration of early-stage companies in Missouri.
First-time employers created more than 190,000 jobs in the last four years, according to the report. That accounted for about four of every five new jobs in the state and 7 percent of total employment in Missouri.

Jobs created by the tech sector continued to grow since 2014, the data revealed. Last year, new tech firms created more than 2,000 jobs, which was higher than the average between 2014 and 2018. Tech firms also paid wages that were about $50,000 more than the state’s average wage.

Missouri was home to more than 19,000 startups in 2018, the report said. Though clustered in high-population regions like Kansas City and St. Louis, new jobs were distributed across the state. As of 2018, the health care and social assistance industry produced the most startups.
“I think it’s important to realize that these jobs are being created all across the state, by all different kinds of businesses,” Hodel said.

This story was produced through a collaboration between Missouri Business Alert and Startland News.
Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC-built Buzz acquired by Vegas tech company hoping to solve AI’s ‘last mile’ challenge in property management
A leading property tech company is placing its bet on the Kansas City-built rent collections platform that Buzz brings to the table, announcing the AI-driven startup’s acquisition Tuesday by Las Vegas-based Pay Ready. The potential for artificial intelligence’s use in an industry historically is limited by the way tech collides with humans, said serial entrepreneur…
Still in the game: 16 startups advance in Kansas pitch tournament; courting a new style of seed funding
WICHITA — And then there were 16. Monday’s pitch competition announcement served up sweet news for more than a dozen Kansas startups as local founders learned they’re advancing in the Gamechangers & Champions “Bracket Bash for Innovators and Angels” — a tournament-style event set to end with a $20,000 grand prize. The just-released list of…
Trio adds Asian fusion to KCK culinary cluster; new BYO ramen, poke spot opens by May
This little strip in Kansas City, Kansas, boasts some of the metro’s favorite restaurants: Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, 1889 Pizza Napoletana, and Gus’s World Famous Chicken. Lulu’s Thai Noodle Shop is just down the street in Westwood. Now an Asian fusion restaurant is joining the mix. Sannin — poke, sushi and ramen — plans to…
