Iowa’s unemployment rate decreased from 3.7 percent in October to 3.6 percent in November, Iowa Workforce Development said Friday. But the state’s labor force participation rate also declined, to its lowest point since 1977.
It marks the seventh consecutive month of decreases in the state’s unemployment rate after it peaked at 11 percent in April.
“November’s rate remained steady as Iowa’s workforce adjusts to the seasonal shifts we typically see this time of year,” Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend said in a news release.
The state’s labor force shrunk by 16,000 people, bringing the state’s labor force participation rate to 65.3 percent.
More than 100,000 Iowans have left the workforce since March.
The unemployment rate only includes people actively seeking work and therefore does not necessarily give a full reflection of the number many people out of work.
These numbers also are only preliminary until the Iowa Workforce Development adjusts data based on information from the U.S. Department of Labor.
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