Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 3.0 percent in October, up from 2.9 percent in September, as job cuts in manufacturing and construction weighed on the state’s economy. The number of unemployed Iowans rose by 1,600 to 51,000, while the total number of employed residents dropped by 1,400 to 1,633,200. Labor force participation declined slightly to 66.2 percent in October from 66.3 percent in September. According to Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) Director Beth Townsend, “October’s report provides more indications of Iowans’ worry about the general state of the U.S. economy in the run-up to the national election. Now that we are past the election, we expect employers’ prior hesitation may dissipate. We nonetheless have more than 52,000 jobs posted on iowaworks.gov for any Iowan looking for a new career.” Nonfarm employment fell by 3,700 jobs, with construction shedding 1,800 positions and manufacturing losing 1,600. Gains were seen in health care and social assistance and leisure and hospitality, increasing by 1,1,00 and 600, respectively. Nationally, the U.S. unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent. A link to the complete October IWD jobs report is included with this story on our website. County-by-county data is expected to be released early next week.
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