Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% in October, down from 4% in September and 4.2% one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 4.6%.
The number of unemployed Iowans decreased to 64,700 in October from 66,200 in September.
The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,596,200 in October. This figure is 1,600 higher than September and 34,800 higher than one year ago. The labor force participation rate remained steady at 66.8%.
“In October, Iowa saw net employment growth for the fifth time in the last six months,” Beth Townsend, director of Iowa Workforce Development, stated in a release. “Our key challenge remains helping increase the number of applicants employers receive for each opening and getting people who have left the labor market during the pandemic back into the workforce. We are hopeful that our new Reemployment Case Management system will help address both of those issues and significantly reduce the amount of time someone is without a job.”
Iowa businesses added 1,000 jobs in October, lifting total nonfarm employment to 1,539,900 jobs. This increase marks the second consecutive gain following a drop in August, and the fifth job increase in the last six months. A total of 22,300 jobs have been added since April. Private industries expanded by 2,000 jobs and were fueled by trade.
Conversely, government shed 1,000 jobs driven mostly by local government cutbacks – yet remains up 2,500 jobs versus last October. Overall, Iowa businesses are up 27,200 jobs beyond the level established one year ago, a gain of 1.8%.
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.
