Iowa’s unemployment rate of two-point-seven percent for September is slightly higher than the previous month. Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says it was a tenth of a percent increase.
Several sectors of the Iowa economy recorded job losses last month, while Iowa manufacturers added 600 jobs.
Those 600 job losses were primarily in the insurance industry. The number of Iowans above the age of 15 who are working or looking for a job was about the same in August and September. Federal data shows that so-called labor participation rate in Iowa peaked in 1996 at more than 73% and got close to that level at the end of 2008. Over one-point-six million Iowans were working last month — a labor participation rate under 68%.
Townsend says it’s still a buyers’ market in Iowa if you’re looking for work.
The new state law that reduced how long unemployed Iowans are eligible for benefits took effect July 1st and its potential effect in the state’s unemployment rate could be reflected in October’s data.
