Unemployment Rate Inches Up Slightly As Workforce Grows

Statewide Iowa — (RI) – The state unemployment rate inched up slightly in October, as the workforce expanded.

Iowa Workforce Development Deputy Director, Ryan West, says its a unique situation.

He says the change in the labor force was the biggest factor in the slight rise in unemployment.

West isn’t exactly sure where the influx into the labor force came from.

He says there are occasionally bumps up in the labor force like this.

West says the unseasonably cold weather didn’t seem to slow the rush of work that usually hits at the end of the year.

The unemployment rate had been at two-point-five percent for three months before this slight move up — and prior to that it held at two-point-four percent for 12 months. West says the biggest concern still remains finding enough workers to fill available jobs.

West says they’ll continue with programs to improve and upgrade the skills of workers to try and fill the demand with Iowa employers.

In northwest Iowa, our counties continue to have among the lowest unemployment in the state. The non-seasonally-adjusted figures are out for October, and Lyon County again has the lowest unemployment in the state, at just 1.1 percent. Sioux County is right there too, tied with Ida County for second place, at 1.2 percent. Osceola and O’Brien counties are among 11 counties tied for fifth place, with 1.5 percent unemployment.

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