Corridor unemployment rates rise in June

The unemployment rates in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City rose in June from May as the communities absorbed job losses in government and services.

Iowa Workforce Development reported Cedar Rapids' jobless rate increased to 4 percent in June from 3.7 percent in May as the number of unemployed residents rose 600 to 5,900 from 5,300 the previous month.

The Cedar Rapids metropolitan statistical area (MSA) added 1,200 nonfarm jobs in June to stand at 146,500. Total nonfarm employment in the metro area is 1,500 above June 2015.

Leisure and hospitality, trade, transportation and warehousing, and professional and business services experienced the greatest gains, adding 300 jobs each. Educational services shed 200 jobs and local government lost 100 jobs,

Employment in the information sector has trended lower since spring of 2014 and is 400 jobs below June 2015. Manufacturing employment in June was unchanged from a year earlier.

Iowa City's unemployment rate jumped to 3.2 percent in June from 2.5 percent in May. The number of unemployed residents rose 700 to 3,100 in June from 2,400 in May.

Nonfarm employment in the Iowa City MSA was down 400 jobs in June from May due to seasonal job losses in state government. While local government added 100 jobs in June, state government shed 1,000 positions.

The private service-providing sector added 400 jobs in June and the goods producing sector gained 100 jobs.

The Iowa City MSA has added 1,700 jobs from June 2015 with gains in nearly every sector. Goods producing is the exception to the job increases, recording a decline of 200 jobs.

Iowa's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose slightly to 4 percent in June from 3.9 percent in May, according to Iowa Workforce Development.

The state's jobless rate was 3.6 percent a year ago.

The number of unemployed Iowans rose to 68,100 in June from 66,600 in May. The total number of working Iowans decreased to 1,642,900 last month, 1,900 lower than May and 6,300 higher than a year ago.

Mike Owen, executive director of the non-profit Iowa Policy Project in Iowa City, said in a news release that Iowa needs sustained job growth to fully recover from the last recession, which ended seven years ago.

'Iowa's monthly job change has averaged between 1,500 and 1,800 for each of the last five calendar years, and so far in 2016, about 1,200 a month through the first half of the year,” Owen said. 'Over the last 12 months, that average is about 1,800.

'Either way, the current pace is too slow to catch up with population growth any time soon.”