Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in November, down from 3.9% in October and 3.9% one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 4.2%.
“Iowa’s economy continued to improve in November, with gains in employment nearly across the board,” said Beth Townsend, director of Iowa Workforce Development, in a news release. “Iowa companies showed more comfort with increasing their staffing levels, and they found plenty of Iowans ready to launch new careers. We hope to build on this growth in 2022, when our Reemployment Case Management program will add new urgency to the process of helping Iowans find employment.”
Beginning in January, the Reemployment Case Management program will offer job search assistance to newly unemployed Iowans so they can get back to work quickly.
The number of unemployed Iowans decreased by more than 3,000 in November, with the total number of working Iowans increasing to 1,599,300. The manufacturing industry lost 5,500 jobs last month, overwhelming job creation seen in other industries.
The labor force participation rate remained steady at 66.8%.
State personal income increased 2.6% at an annual rate in the third quarter of 2021 after decreasing 20.2% in the second quarter, according to a news release from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In Iowa, the state saw personal income decrease 0.8%.
