Iowa jobless rate rises slightly in April

Iowa's unemployment rate edged up to 3.9 percent in April from 3.8 percent in March despite the fact that employers are seeking qualified job applicants.

The number of unemployed Iowans rose to 66,100 last month from 65,500 in March, according to Iowa Workforce Development. The current estimate is 3,800 higher than 62,300 in April 2015.

'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 www.iowajobs.org, indicating Iowa's employers are still in significant need of skilled workers,” Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend said in a news release. 'While we never like to see the unemployment rate increase, Iowa still maintains a friendly environment for job seekers.”

The total number of working Iowans declined to 1,647,200 in April, 2,300 lower than in March and 10,200 higher than a year ago.

Iowa's nonfarm employment advanced by 4,300 in April, lifting employment to 1,580,800 jobs. The monthly gain is the second consecutive one for the state following an unusually large decline in February.

Iowa has added jobs in six of the last seven months, leading to an increase of 20,000 jobs compared with a year ago.

Private sector firms added 2,400 jobs in April. Government added 2,100 jobs, primarily at the local government level.

Construction added the most jobs last month - 3,300 positions. The increase followed another large advance in March and is not unexpected given the large number of institutional and infrastructure projects around the state.

Trade and transportation lost 3,500 jobs, the largest number of any employment sector. Declines were nearly split between wholesale and retail trade payrolls.

While construction has added 10,600 jobs on an annual basis, education and health care is second in terms of growth with 5,100 positions.