Iowa’s labor force participation rate increased to 67.5 percent in August as 1,900 people joined the workforce, led primarily by adults ages 20 to 24, according to Iowa Workforce Development data released this week.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.8%, up from 3.7% in July, while the national unemployment rate increased to 4.3% from 4.2% in July.
The total number of unemployed Iowans increased to 65,800 in August from 64,900 in July. The number of working Iowans reached 1,673,500 in August, an increase of 1,100 from July and 13,200 higher than one year ago.
“August saw growth in both the number of Iowans in the labor force and the total number of working Iowans,” said Beth Townsend, executive director of Iowa Workforce Development, in a release. “Likewise, we’ve also seen a more than 10 percent reduction in the number of unemployment claims from the same time last year.”
Iowa establishments added 3,600 jobs in August, bringing total nonfarm employment to 1,594,600. The gain marked the first increase since April and resulted primarily from private service industry hiring, while goods-producing industries decreased slightly.
Professional and business services led job growth with 1,800 new positions, largely due to hiring in professional services including legal, accounting and computer programming industries. Leisure and hospitality added 1,200 jobs, with accommodations and food services gaining 700 positions and arts, entertainment and recreation industries adding 500 jobs.
Trade industries added 1,000 jobs, with retail trade slightly outpacing wholesale in August. Government gained 700 jobs, led by hiring in state and local schools and colleges.
Health care and social assistance lost 800 jobs in August, led by declines in social assistance services. Construction shed 700 jobs following a 400-job loss in July.
Over the past 12 months, health care and social assistance has added the most jobs at 4,600 positions, while manufacturing led annual job losses at 5,300 positions. Total non-farm employment remains 2,300 jobs below last year’s level.
