The Western Iowa Advantage Region reports that the March 2017 unemployment rate in the eight-county area has decreased just shy of one full point from the same time period last year. Figures released from Iowa Workforce Development show the overall decrease from 4.4 percent in 2016 to 3.5 percent in 2017. Carroll County continues to hold one of the lowest rates in the region at 2.3 percent, with Greene and Ida also coming in under the 3 percent mark at 2.7 and 2.9 percent respectively. Adair County comes in right at 3 percent while Audubon reported 3.4 and Guthrie and Sac Counties were at 3.7 percent. Crawford County continues to hold a higher rate, recording 5.2 percent unemployment for March. Iowa’s unemployment rate was 3.1 percent, down just .7 percent from March of 2016.
