Statewide Iowa — The state unemployment rate inched up one-tenth of a percent in August, the first increase in seven months.
Iowa Workforce Development director, Beth Townsend, says the increase is mostly tied to students.
The increase still leaves the unemployment rate at two-point-six percent and in the range of pre-pandemic levels.
Townsend says manufacturing continues to chug along and add jobs despite all the economic turmoil.
Townsend says it is likely the unemployment rate will rebound in September.
Townsend says there are more than 80-thousand open jobs in Iowa and they continue to work hard to fill those jobs. And she says there are almost 40-thousand people who are unemployed but not receiving an employment benefit. She says they are trying to help anybody who was looking for and wants a job to find one.
The local unemployment rates, which are not adjusted seasonally and are a month behind statewide data are for July are two-point-one percent for O’Brien County, one-point-six percent for Lyon County, which happens to be the lowest unemployment in the state, and one-point-seven percent for Osceola and Sioux County, which are in a three way tie with Adair County for second-lowest unemployment in the state.
For more information on finding a job visit https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/.
