Unemployment in the seven-county region rose notably in October, according to Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) data released last week. It was a four-way tie for the lowest rate, with Audubon, Carroll, Greene, and Sac Counties all recording unemployment at 2.6 percent. Audubon County was 0.4 percentage points higher than last year’s and September’s figures. Carroll County was 0.6 percentage points higher than in October 2022 and 0.3 points higher than the prior month. Greene County also recorded a 0.6-point jump from last year, which was 0.4 points higher than the preceding month. Sac recorded the most significant monthly increase in the region, jumping 0.5 points from 2.1 percent in October. Calhoun and Guthrie Counties saw unemployment rise to 3.0 percent from 2.8 and 2.7 percent, respectively. Crawford County recorded the highest unemployment at 3.9 percent, even with September, but 0.8 percentage points higher than the same period last year. Iowa’s seasonally adjusted rate for October 2023 climbed to 3.2 percent, while the national rate increased to 3.9 percent. The full IWD dataset is included with this story on our website.
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