Statewide, Iowa — Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped for the fifth consecutive month in May. The rate is now two-point-seven percent compared to three percent in April. Iowa Workforce Development Director, Beth Townsend, says 50-thousand more people have jobs compared to one year ago.
Townsend says the rate this month is a significant one when it comes to pandemic recovery.
The unemployment rate peaked at 11 percent at the height of the pandemic in April of 2020– and after months of recovery Townsend says it is nice to not have to deal with the pandemic issues.
Towsend says a new influence on the labor situation is higher prices and the increased cost of living.
The economy also had an impact on the construction industry — particularly in one area.
She says other areas of construction are picking up.
Townsend says businesses have added almost 35-thousand jobs in the last 12 months. She says leisure and hospitality increased about 100 and is up more than 12-thousand jobs compared to last May. She says that’s a really good indication of the strength of the economy in terms of people are getting out and spending money.
