Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent in July, according to data released this (Thursday) morning by Iowa Workforce Development (IWD). The number of unemployed Iowans increased to 64,900 in July, up 1,200 from 63,700 in June. The state’s labor force participation, which measures the proportion of working-age Iowans who are employed or actively seeking work, remained unchanged at 67.4 percent. The state’s unemployment rate is 0.6 percentage points higher than in July 2024, which stood at 3.1 percent. Currently, there are 1,672,600 employed Iowans, 600 more than in June and 11,000 more than a year ago. IWD Director Beth Townsend says, “The fact that 11,000 more Iowans are working than the same time a year ago is a good sign given the job losses we’ve seen in manufacturing. There remain over 50,000 open jobs on IowaWORKS.gov, which means significant opportunities exist for Iowans who are looking for a new or next great job.” Total nonfarm employment rose by 300 jobs in July to 1,591,500, following losses of 7,300 over the prior two months. Gains in the education services sector of 2,600 jobs, leisure and hospitality of 1,400 jobs, and manufacturing adding 600 jobs were offset by losses in the trades sector of 1,900 and professional and business services of 1,000 jobs. The U.S. unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points from June to July to 4.2 percent. Local unemployment figures are slated for release early next week. A to IWD’s full dataset is included below.
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