Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 2.7 percent to 2.9 percent in August, tying the year-ago rate, while the U.S. unemployment rate increased from 3.5 percent to 3.8 percent in August.
Iowa gained 2,400 jobs and Iowa’s workforce grew by 500 people in August, despite the rise in unemployment.
“Iowa employers appear to have acted cautiously last month amid ongoing worry about the national economy and rising inflation,” said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “However, we saw Iowa’s pool of available workers increase, meaning that more and more Iowans continue to show a strong desire to find new careers across the state.”
The number of unemployed Iowans saw an increase of 2500 from July to August. The state’s labor force participation decease one tenth of a percent.
The total number of working Iowans decreased by 2000 in August but is nearly 25,000 higher than one year ago.