October’s unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a percent from September to three-point-five percent. Iowa Workforce Development spokesperson, Courtney Greene, says it has been awhile since the unemployment rate was this low.
“The low unemployment rate of three-point-five hasn’t been seen since 2006,” Green says.
The unemployment rate one year ago in October was four-point-three percent. The number of unemployed dropped to 60-thousand-300 in October. Iowa’s unemployment rate may have bottomed out.
“Many economists agree that three-point-five percent is considered full employment. There’s roughly three-point-five percent of the population in transition between jobs at any given time, or those who have significant long-term barriers to employment,” Greene says. “Low unemployment is good for job seekers — but it is challenging for many Iowa employers who are struggling to find those with the skills needed in various industries.”
Greene says non-farm employment added jobs for the second straight month.
“Professional and business services surged ahead in October — thanks to hiring in administrative and waste management. This is the third consecutive month of growth for this sector, which has added 45-hundred jobs since July,” according to Greene. “There was also a gain in the service sector — which has gained jobs in three of the last four months. And Iowa’s financial sector has remained strong over the past 12 months and is up 25-hundred jobs annually.” Greene says job losses were low compared to the gains.
“Leisure-hospitality lost 19-hundred jobs and manufacturing saw a slight decline of about a thousand jobs,” Greene says. The Workforce Development report says leisure and hospitality was hampered this month by a decrease in accommodations and food services staffing that was larger than seasonally expected. The current estimate is that the number of people without a job is 13-thousand-500 lower than one year ago. Iowa’s unemployment rate remains well below the national rate, which dropped to five percent in October.
