But we can all agree that 1999 is behind us, and this is probably a good time to look back at what's been the major news of the year. Some of these happenings will forever change the landscape of the Missouri business community. Missouri's unemployment rate continues to set record lows, with several counties under two percent at sometime during the year. Ups and downs in the global economy . Stiff competition from foreign imports results in plant cutbacks and closures in several Missouri communities.
Industries hardest hit are the textile, apparel, footwear and other low-tech industries.
Experts regard the project as the most important historic preservation effort in progress in the nation. The information technology industry in Missouri gets a big boost with major expansions by MCI WorldCom and MasterCard International in St. Louis. Together, the projects will create more than 2,300 jobs. Room service . The last vestiges of Marion Labs, the pharmaceutical giant started by Ewing Kauffman in his basement, fades from the Kansas City corporate scene as the company's latest successor, Hoechst Marion Roussel, completes a merger with Rhone Poulenc to create a new company, Aventis.