Iowa’s Labor Force Participation Rises Once Again in June, Unemployment Rate Unchanged
DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa’s labor force participation rate increased once again in June to 68.7 percent, up from 68.5 percent in May. This was the fourth consecutive monthly increase as 4,900 new workers joined the state’s labor force.
At the same time, Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 2.7 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate decreased to 3.6 percent in June. The number of total unemployed Iowans remained level from May to June.
The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,693,300 in June. This figure is 4,800 higher than May and 18,100 higher than one year ago.
“For the fourth straight month we’ve seen an increase in the Labor Force Participation rate, which is exactly what we want to see. Nearly all Iowans who entered the labor force in June did so by finding a job – that’s encouraging news for job seekers and the health of the state economy as a whole,” said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “It remains a great time to return to the workforce and find that next great job. Iowa Workforce Development has lots of tools, resources, and connections to help and a great place to start is IowaWORKS.gov.”
Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment
Iowa establishments gained 400 jobs in June, lifting total nonfarm employment to 1,595,700 jobs. This is the fourth increase in 2023 and follows a loss of 1,300 jobs in May. Job gains in leisure and hospitality as well as education and health care more than offset a cooling with the construction industry, which after a long period of strong growth has shed jobs for the second consecutive month. Goods producing sectors combined have shed 3,600 jobs since April, but private services have countered with 2,500 jobs added. Government added 100 jobs since May and is now up 3,700 jobs versus last year while total nonfarm employment has advanced by 26,100.
Arts, entertainment, and recreation industries added the most jobs in June, gaining 3,200 jobs. This is the fourth consecutive increase for this industry which was partially fueled by hiring at amusement, gambling, and recreation establishments. Education and health care establishments added 1,000 jobs and were generally driven by health care and social assistance firms hiring. This is now the fourth consecutive gain for this supersector, which is up 3,800 jobs since February. On the other hand, construction shed the most jobs in June (-1,700) and has reflected some weakness this year with 3,800 jobs pared since January. Professional and business services lost 1,400 jobs and was led by losses in administrative support and waste management. Financial activities posted the only other major loss (-500). This sector has trended down over the past three months with 1,100 jobs shed since March.
Annually, education and health care has added the most jobs (+12,000), with just over half of the jobs added being in health care and social assistance. Leisure and hospitality is now up 9,400 jobs, following a large increase in recreational industries in June. While most sectors have advanced, there are a few sectors paring jobs over the past twelve months and were led by administrative support and waste management (-4,900) and transportation and warehousing (-3,300).
