Iowa’s Unemployment Rate Increases to 3.3 Percent in November Despite 4,700 New Jobs
DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 3.3 percent in November, up from 3.1 percent one year ago. Iowa’s labor force participation rate decreased to 68.1 percent in November (down 0.3 percent from October and 0.1 percent from one year ago) even as businesses gained 4,700 jobs. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 percent in November.
“Despite some Iowans leaving their jobs in November, we saw employers add over 4,500 jobs, and we have gained over 10,000 jobs in the past year,” said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “A bright spot in today’s report includes an increase of over 1,000 jobs in health care, an industry that has struggled to find workers. That industry is up 8,500 jobs in 2023, which will help ease some of the gaps in the industry created by the pandemic. Additionally, there are over 62,000 jobs posted on IowaWORKS, a number which continues to exceed the total number of unemployed in Iowa.”
The number of unemployed Iowans increased to 57,200 in November from 56,000 in October.
The total number of working Iowans decreased to 1,672,000 in November. This figure is 8,000 lower than October but 3,800 higher than one year ago.
Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment
Iowa’s businesses added 4,700 jobs in November, lifting total nonfarm employment to 1,591,500. This increase is the second consecutive and largely the result of private service hiring in health care and social assistance coupled with hiring in trade and construction. The gain in November helps keep the state positive for 2023 with private industry continuing to expand payrolls. Government was unchanged compared to October. Total nonfarm employment combined is now at 10,300 jobs gained annually.
Construction industries advanced by 1,800 jobs in November to lead all industries. This sector gained 3,100 over the past three months following a sluggish summer that saw jobs pared during the season. Many of the hires were related to commercial construction projects. Elsewhere, education and health care added 1,500 jobs with health care and social assistance responsible for most of the increase (+1,100). Trade and transportation gained 1,000 jobs in November and was fueled by hiring in both wholesale and retail trade, which added a combined 1,500 jobs, more than offsetting a small drop in transportation and warehousing (-500). The only other major gain in November occurred in financial activities (+1,000). This increase was the first since March for this sector. Professional and business services posted the only major loss in November (-1,000). This loss was fueled by cutbacks in administrative support and waste management services.
Annually, education and health care services has added the most jobs (+9,400). Health care and social assistance is responsible for most of the increase (+8,500). Manufacturing has added 3,000 jobs over the past 12 months. All the increase stems from durable goods factories; nondurable goods shops decreased slightly (-600). On the other hand, professional and business services continue to lose jobs and now rest down 7,400 jobs. Most of this loss is related to administrative support and waste management industries.
