Missouri's state economy is one of the biggest issues in the gubernatorial election. The rising unemployment rates make job hunting harder than ever.

With unemployment rising to recent highs, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Division of Employment Security hired 35 employees just to help process unemployment claims. Even with 35 new hires, they say they're running on a nearly 2 week backlog.

For the Trumbo family, kickball games are more than afternoon exercise. They're a way to save money. Jerry Trumbo lost his job five months ago. He's still looking for work. His family lives on his wife's income and he says they had to make some changes.

"We try to buy in bulk, we try to cook our meals in a way that we can eat for two or three days off of one meal instead of one day at a time, you know, a pot of chili versus steak each night or something like that," said Jerry.

His job search is now his full-time job.

"I go out everyday and I spend most of the day filling out applications, interviewing and so forth. Then that night I regroup and think of what my next game plan is for the following day and go to the new place the following day and its just a continues circle where i fill out applications and turn them in and hope for a phone call," explained Jerry.

And striking out is tough, as a father of 3, Jerry says his biggest struggle is explaining to his kids why he isn't at work.

"It's tough as a father and we've been unable to do some of the things that we'd like to because I'm unable to find a job. We pray a lot, and I keep on looking for work," stated Jerry.

The Trumbos aren't the only ones who feel the tough economy hitting home. In August, Missouri unemployment rates rose to their highest point in 17 years climbing from 5.7 in June, to 6.4 in July, and 6.6 in August. That's a one percent jump in just one year from a rate of 5.2% last August.

For many like Trumbo, a vote for Missouri's next governor will largely depend on their state economic policy an issue both candidates have brought to the forefront of their campaign.

"We need to focus on two areas here one is what I call human capital making sure we get a trained workforce. One of the ideas I laid out is called the Missouri promise. It gives every middle class family an opportunity for four year tuition free school if they keep a B average and are willing to do community service. My opponent has come up with no ideas of that nature. The bottom line is if we have a trained workforce and then we work to reach this new economy whether its energy independence or whether its in transportation and other areas where we need to move the state forward. The other thing we could do real quickly again the restoration of these healthcare cuts that would add over 10,000 jobs right here in Missouri right now turning down over $1.5 billion in federal money that should be being used here in Missouri for healthcare has cost us over 10,000 jobs would instantly help this economy get going forward again,"said Gubernatorial candidate Jay Nixon.

"What I've put forward in plan is to look at distance learning that will help folks, regardless of your zip code, be able to go online and maybe get those training, that training, those skills that are necessary. We've also put forward an initiative to, we call it Missouri fast track, where we aggressively go out and we fast track business permits and we also fast track the development of a specific workforce if a company promises to bring jobs. So, its an aggressive outreach, uh, so we put forward some significant proposals to really take our state to the next level," stated Gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof.