ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -  According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in St. Louis currently stands at 9.1%.

But Chris Hodge, vice president for Job News, tells KMOX News that shafts of light are beginning to break through those dark clouds as area employers start to once again expand their workforces.

“We really watch the amount of hiring going on in the area, and we’re seeing it increase,” Hodge explains.  “Not at a real rapid pace but at a steady pace.”

Job News is sponsored another one of its quarterly job fairs Thursday at the Doubletree Hotel Westport.

Thirty area employers, including Express Scripts, US Cellular, Northrop Grumman, Lumiere Place and River City Casinos, took part.

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