Iowa’s unemployment numbers for April were released today.
Courtney Greene, spokesperson for the Iowa Workforce Development agency, says the state’s unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percent from March to 3.9 percent. It marks the third straight month for an uptick in Iowa’s jobless rate, after nearly 7 solid years of dropping or holding steady.
“Although Iowa’s unemployment rate ticked up for the third straight month, the good news is that there are over 56,000 jobs posted at iowajobs.org, indicating Iowa’s employers are still in significant need of skilled workers,” Greene said. The total number of working Iowans decreased to 1,647,200 in April.
“Despite increasing concerns over an economic downturn, the state has added jobs in six of the last seven months leading to an increase of 20,000 jobs over a year ago,” Greene said. The trade and transportation sector in Iowa accounted for 3,500 job losses between March and April. Iowa’s construction sector, meanwhile, nearly offset those losses.
“Construction posted the largest single gain (in April) by adding 3,300 jobs,” Greene said. Over the last year, construction has accounted for slightly over half of all job gains in Iowa. The number of unemployed Iowans stood at 66,100 in April. That is up from 62,300 one year ago.