Construction is underway at the ELPLAST site.

Construction jobs have increased by nearly 16 percent this year.

The state unemployment rate inched up in June to 4 percent after holding at 3.9 percent in May.

The rate is the highest it has been since November of 2014 and has now inched up slightly in four of the last five months.

The director of Iowa Workforce Development, Beth Townsend, says businesses added 5,100 new jobs last month, but the state saw an unusually large decline of 6,100 jobs in May.

Professional and business services lost 1,500 jobs in June, IWD says this sector has generally trended down over the past year as firms and individuals reduce demand for non-essential services to save money. Manufacturing lost 600 jobs and IWD says that sector has seen just one monthly gain this year.

The construction industry remains strong — adding 2,100 jobs last month. The construction industry is up 12,200 jobs this year, an increase of nearly 16 percent.

The number of unemployed Iowans rose to 68,100 in June from 66,600 in May. The current estimate is 6,300 higher than the year ago level of 61,800. The total number of working Iowans decreased to 1,642,900 in June. This figure was 1,900 lower than May and 6,300 higher than one year ago

The unemployment rate was 3.6 percent one year ago. Iowa’s rate still remains below the national level, which rose to 4.9 percent in June from 4.7 percent in May