Ranks of Iowa unemployed up 1,000 in March

Iowa's unemployment rate rose slightly in March as the number of jobless Iowans climbed by about 1,000, Iowa Workforce Development reported.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.1 percent was up from February's 6 percent. It was unchanged from March 2010.

Iowa's unemployment rate remained significantly below the United States unemployment rate of 8.8 percent, which also dipped by 0.1 percent.

Despite the two negative numbers, Iowa Workforce Development Director Teresa Wahlert said the March hiring pattern provided “further assurance that the Iowa economy is moving the right direction.”

The Iowa Policy Project agreed in its monthly analysis of employment trends, noting that the first three months of 2011 have brought an increase of 11,400 jobs.

“If Iowa's economy can maintain that pace throughout 2011, it will go a long way toward erasing the payroll jobs deficit from the Great Recession,” said Noga O'Connor, a research associate at the Iowa Policy Project. She said nonfarm jobs in Iowa are at a 22-month high, but remain 47,700 jobs behind the all-time high mark of 1,528,200 in May 2008.

O'Connor said weakness in public sector employment - down 1,100 jobs over last year - is one area of concern.

Total nonfarm employment climbed 4,400 from February and is now 13,000 more than in March 2010.

Leisure and hospitality services had the biggest job gains, up 2,100 from February and 5,200 from March 2010.

Manufacturing employment was up 1,400 from February and 2,500 from March 2010.

Iowa's nonfarm employment has increased 13,000 from March 2010.

The Midwest as a whole is faring particularly well, said Steve Cochrane, a regional economist at Moody's Analytics. The region has generated more jobs in the past three months than any of the other three regions. A rebound in manufacturing has spurred hiring in professional services such as accounting, advertising and legal services. New weekly applications for unemployment benefits have fallen to pre-recession levels, Cochrane said, the first region where that has happened.

As a result, the unemployment rate in the Midwest dropped from 8.4 percent to 8.3 percent last month. That's just above the Northeast's 8.2 percent unemployment rate - the best among the four regions. The West had the highest unemployment for any region in March at 10.7 percent, followed by the South at 9 percent