According to data released by Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) today (Thursday), the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.9 percent in March, down from February’s revised rate of 3.0 percent. In raw figures, the total number of Iowans on unemployment dropped from 52,000 in February to 48,700 in March. Despite this positive trend, the state’s labor force participation rate dipped to 67 percent from 67.2 percent in February. IWD Executive Director Beth Townsend says, “March employment figures indicate steady progress across Iowa’s economy. Construction expanded for the fifth straight month while Iowa employers added more than 4,000 jobs in March. This month’s increase followed a historically large increase last month of over 11,000 added jobs and was fueled by private service industries ramping up payrolls. With more than 60,000 jobs currently posted on IowaWORKS.gov, it is clear that employers continue to look for Iowa workers.” Professional and business services saw the most significant increase in March, adding 2,200 jobs, primarily in the administrative support and waste management sectors. Although the number of working Iowans decreased slightly to 1,648,200 in March, nonfarm employment increased by 4,400 jobs, reaching 1,612,500 jobs. Local unemployment numbers are expected to be released early next week. For more information on Iowa’s labor force, follow the link included below.
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