(The Center Square) – Iowa’s 3 percent seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped below the 3.6 percent national average in April and is down from the state’s 3.3 percent unemployment rate in March.
In real numbers, those percentages translate into 50,900 unemployed Iowans in April, down from 55,600 in March. One year ago, Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment was 4.5 percent.
Iowa’s initial unemployment claims plummeted to 5,290 in April, which is the lowest monthly number the state has experienced since 1973.
Iowa’s work force boasted 1,646,800 workers in April, which is 45,100 more workers than April 2021 and 10,000 more workers than March 2022. The state’s labor force participation rate rose to 67.4 percent in April from 67.2 percent in March.
“Thousands of Iowans returned to the work force in April and found promising new careers in manufacturing, construction, and other industries,” Beth Townsend, director of Iowa Workforce Development, said in a statement. “Our economy continues to grow, our labor force continues to expand, and unemployed Iowans are finding amazing new career opportunities faster than ever thanks to our pivot to focus on reemployment. The April numbers confirm once again that we’re on the right track.”
Iowa businesses added 3,300 jobs in April after a loss of 2,800 the previous month. Much of the growth was attributed to hiring in manufacturing (up 1,100) and construction (up 900).
Sectors experiencing job growth over the past 12 months include:
- Leisure and hospitality up 12,400, with most of the increase stemming from accommodations and food services up 10,300.
- Manufacturing up 7,300.
- Retail trade up 4,400.
Sectors trending down compared to last year are health care and social assistance (down 2,700), and finance and insurance (down 1,000).
