Iowa’s Unemployment Rate Increases to 2.6 Percent, Participation Rate Rises
DES MOINES, IOWA –Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 2.6 percent in October driven by an increase in the state’s labor force. The state’s jobless rate was 2.4 percent one year ago. The labor force participation rate rose to 70.4 percent in October from 70.1 percent in September. The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 3.6 percent in October.
“While Iowa saw a small increase in the number of unemployed in October, we also saw an increase of 9,100 more Iowans in the workforce than we saw in September,” said Director Beth Townsend, Iowa Workforce Development. “Over the past 12 months we have seen more than 52,000 Iowans join the workforce. Employers continue to face a shortage of skilled workers and there are currently over 60,000 job postings on www.IowaWorks.gov. Future Ready Iowa and our partners, the community colleges, are well positioned to help address this shortage through their effort to award thousands of Last-Dollar scholarships in high-demand occupations.”
The number of unemployed Iowans increased to 45,100 in October from 44,200 in September. The current estimate is 5,100 higher than the year ago level of 40,000.
The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,703,400 in October. This figure was 9,100 higher than September and 52,600 higher than one year ago.
Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment
Hiring in Iowa slowed in October with payrolls remaining virtually unchanged versus September. A slight loss within private establishments (-400) was exactly offset by small gains in local and state government. Overall, half of all private super sectors posted the same job level in October that they had in September. The lack of movement this month halts six consecutive months of job gains for the state stretching back to April and leaves total nonfarm employment in Iowa up 7,800 jobs over-the-year (+0.5 percent).
Within private services, job growth this month was centered around professional and business services (+500), or more specifically, the professional, scientific, and technical services sector. This is the second straight month this sector has advanced, adding over 900 jobs since August. Job losses this month were generally small and led by financial activities (-400). Much of this loss was within credit intermediation and related activities. Insurance carriers and related activities has fared slightly better and helped mitigate some of this decrease. All other losses were small and included construction, other services, and education and health services, all of which combined for a loss of 500 jobs.
Over the past twelve months, manufacturing continues to lead all super sectors in terms of job growth (+2,800). This is contrary to the fact that Iowa’s factories have not combined for a monthly job gain since the recent high established in June, when this sector topped at 229,900 jobs. Durable goods continue to comprise most of the gain (+2,800) with nondurable goods shops now paring jobs in each of the last four months. Construction had a small decline in October but remains up 1,600 jobs with growth being particularly strong in the Des Moines Metro area. Annual losses continue to be highest in information services (-1,500). This sector continues to structurally change away from print and wired media and become less labor intensive as new technologies advance. Leisure and hospitality now trails last year’s mark by 1,000 jobs due to accommodations and food services staff reductions over the past three months.
