Unemployment rates across most of west central Iowa improved in February, but one county in the seven-county region saw its rates slip higher. According to data released Tuesday by Iowa Workforce Development (IWD), Greene County recorded the lowest unemployment rate last month at 2.0 percent, a 0.4-point decrease from January. Carroll County saw the only increase in the region, climbing from 2.3 percent to 2.6 percent in February. Audubon and Calhoun Counties saw negligible shifts in their unemployment rates, also reaching 2.6 percent, followed by Calhoun County at 2.8 percent, Guthrie County at 3.7 percent, and Crawford County at 5.8 percent. Six of the seven counties in the listening areas improved from January to February, and four out of seven are below rates recorded in February 2022. The statewide unemployment rate for last month was 2.9 percent, and the U.S. unemployment rate was calculated at 3.6 percent. The complete county-by-county dataset is available through the link included below.
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https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/local-area-unemployment-statistics
