DES MOINES, Iowa - New jobless numbers for Iowa show a mixed bag.
First time jobless claims are sharply up.
But ongoing claims, which more accurately reflect the state's unemployment rate, are down by seven percent.
Iowa's overall unemployment rate remains one of the lowest in the country.
By the numbers, first time weekly jobless claims are up by 1,315, from 4,216 to 5,531, a jump of almost 24 percent. The large rise is a sharp contrast to the previous week, when first time claims were down by 15 percent.
First time claims can wobble by seemingly wide margins from week to week without greatly impacting overall longer range numbers.
Ongoing claims for the most recent week are down by 3,562, from 48,389 to 44,827, reflecting the drop of nearly 7 percent.
Ongoing claims reached a peak in the early stages of the pandemic of more than 191,000 in late May of 2020.