The Iowa Workforce Development has released unemployment statistics for November, finding that Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 3.3 percent last month, up from 3.1 percent one year ago.
Iowa’s labor force participation rate decreased to 68.1 percent in November, even as businesses gained 4,700 jobs. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 percent in November.
“Despite some Iowans leaving their jobs in November, we saw employers add over 4,500 jobs, and we have gained over 10,000 jobs in the past year,” said Beth Townsend, Iowa Workforce Development’s executive director. “A bright spot in today’s report includes an increase of over 1,000 jobs in health care, an industry that has struggled to find workers. That industry is up 8,500 jobs in 2023, which will help ease some of the gaps in the industry created by the pandemic. Additionally, there are over 62,000 jobs posted on IowaWORKS, a number which continues to exceed the total number of unemployed in Iowa.”
According to a press release, the number of unemployed Iowans increased to 57,200 in November from 56,000 in October.
The total number of working Iowans decreased to 1,672,000 in November. This figure is 8,000 lower than October but 3,800 higher than one year ago.
Iowa’s businesses added 4,700 jobs in November, lifting total nonfarm employment to 1,591,500. The industry that led in employment was construction, advancing by 1,800 jobs in November.
Visit www.iowalmi.gov for more information about current and historical data, labor force data, nonfarm employment, hours and earnings, and jobless benefits by county
