Unemployment rates in the region improved by nearly a half point on average from July to August, but there is still ground to make up from a year ago, according to data from Iowa Workforce Development (IWD). For August 2025, Carroll and Audubon counties led the region with the lowest unemployment at 2.8 percent. Carroll County saw no change from month to month and remains 0.4 points higher than August 2024. Audubon County improved 0.4 points from July to August but remains 0.4 points above last year’s figures. Calhoun, Sac, and Greene Counties all recorded a 3.3 percent unemployment rate, with improvements of 0.4, 0.5, and 1.6 points from July, respectively. Guthrie County’s unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, compared to 3.9 percent the previous month and 3.0 percent a year ago. Crawford County recorded the highest rate in the region in August at 4.6 percent, a tenth of a point improved from the prior month. The average unemployment rate for the seven-county region in August was 3.4 percent, a half point below July’s numbers. However, rates remain 0.2 points above August 2024’s figures. Local unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted. Both Iowa’s and the U.S. unemployment rates trended higher in August. Iowa’s rose to 3.8 percent while the nation’s was up to 4.3 percent. A link to IWD’s full August 2025 dataset is included below.
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