Unemployment up, but number of workers hits a high

The jobless rate inched upward in September but Workforce labor analyst Ann Wagner says a couple different factors seem at odds with each other.
Unemployment rose to the highest level since April 1997, but number of total people working set a record high. The jobless rate of three-point-two percent was just a tenth of a percent over August’s rate, and Wagner says there’s no telling whether the terrorist attacks of September eleventh affected employment in Iowa or nationwide
She says it’s too early to tell because anyone employed on Monday September 10 is counted as employed for the month. Wagner says it seems like a contradiction that the jobless rate is up but so is total employment.
She says employment increases because some industries keep hiring.
Most of the layoffs are in durable-goods manufacturing, but services, finance, transportation and other industries are hiring. Iowa’s three-point-2 percent compares two-point-six September a year ago. The national jobless rate was four-point-nine percent, which was steady from August.