Unemployment rates in the seven-county region rose by nearly a half point in May 2024 from the prior month but held stable with last year’s rates, according to data released this week by Iowa Workforce Development (IWD). Carroll led the area with the lowest unemployment at 2.0 percent, 0.4 points higher than April but 0.5 points below May 2023. Audubon County followed close behind at 2.1 percent, 0.4 points higher than the previous month and 0.1 points lower than last year. Greene County’s unemployment rose 0.7 points from April to 2.3 percent in May, which is 0.4 points higher than in May 2023. Guthrie County and Calhoun County’s rates increased by 0.6 points to 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, while Sac County jumped by nearly a whole percentage point to 3.1 percent. Crawford County again recorded the highest unemployment in the region at 4.2 percent, 0.2 points higher than in April but a half point below last year. The average unemployment rate for the region was 2.7 percent, below Iowa’s 2.8 percent figure and the national 3.9 percent rate. County-by-county unemployment data is not seasonally adjusted like state and national numbers. The full IWD dataset for May 2024 unemployment is included below.