Unemployment rates for the month of October recorded an overall increase in the region from the same time period last year, coming in at 3.1 percent in 2016 versus 2.7 percent in 2015. This, however, is a decrease from the 3.4 percent reported last month. The eight-county Western Iowa Region compares the results released by Iowa Workforce Development and has shown only one county in the region with a decrease in their unemployment rates from September to October. Adair dropped from 3.2 to 2.7 percent while the rest rose. Ida went up from 2.3 to 2.6 percent while Greene County was up from 2.5 to 2.8. Sac saw similar increases from 2.7 to 2.9 and Carroll County went up from 2.6 to 3 percent. Audubon recorded a half point increase to 3.3 percent and Guthrie rose three-tenths of a percent to 3.5 percent. Crawford County, who still holds the highest rate in the region saw an increase from 4.5 to 4.9 percent. The state unemployment rates saw a slight decrease going from 4.2 percent in September to 4.1 percent in October, but that rate is above the 3.5 percent rate in October of 2015.
