Iowa jobless rate down to 3.3% for March

Labor participation rate up another .2%

The Gazette

Apr. 15, 2022 2:16 pm, Updated: Apr. 15, 2022 2:47 pm

Wendy’s at Center Point Road and 42nd Street NE in Cedar Rapids posts an offer of free lunch for job applicants in February 2022. (Michael Chevy Castranova/The Gazette)

The state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell to 3.3 percent March, according to the Iowa Workforce Development. That is down from 3.5 percent the month before and from 4.4 percent a year ago.

The March unemployment rate nationally dropped to 3.6 percent, IWD said in a news release Saturday.

The Iowa labor force participation rate moved up to 67.2 percent in March from 67 percent in the previous month.

The total number of working Iowans increased by 10,000 from February, to 1,637,100, in March, according to IWD. That’s 39,400 higher than March 2021.

A separate U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey cited by IWD showed Iowa employers shaving 1,500 non-farm jobs this past month — the first decline since August of this past year.

The drop was due to cutbacks in private service industries, the release said.

Some highlights from the IWD March report:

Total nonfarm employment stood at 1,563,700 jobs.
Government was down slightly, cutting 100 jobs, but was up 5,200 jobs compared with 2021.
Leisure and hospitality lost 2,800 jobs.
Health care and social assistance were down by 800 jobs.
Retail was up by 900 jobs. That was the sixth consecutive increase for that sector. Wholesale trade added 700 jobs.
Construction added 400 jobs.
Manufacturing was up 6,100 jobs.