Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 4.5 percent in August, but was down from the August 2013 rate of 4.7 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped slightly to 6.1 percent in August compared to 6.2 percent in July.
“Iowa experienced gains in labor force, total employment, and nonfarm employment in August,” said Teresa Wahlert, director of Iowa Workforce Development. “The state’s labor force participation rate also continued to trend up this month, as an increasing percentage of Iowans seek employment.”
The number of unemployed Iowans remained at 76,700 in August. The current estimate is 1,400 lower than the year ago level of 78,100. The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,626,300 in August from 1,623,900 in July. This figure was 2,400 higher than July and 31,300 higher than one year ago.