DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa is tied for the sixth lowest unemployment rate in the county.
Both Iowa and Kansas are at 3.5 percent for the month of January, which represents a slight drop from December's Iowa rate of 3.7 percent. Iowa's jobless rate in January of 2020 was 2.8 percent.
The state's workforce has grown steadily since peaking last April after the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread business closures.
The unemployment rate has dropped by roughly two-thirds since April's rate of 10.2 percent.
“As the weather continues to improve and our seasonal layoffs come to an end, we are hopeful our unemployment rate will continue to decline and our labor participation rate will improve,” said Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend,
Iowa's surrounding states, except for Illinois, have jobless rates in the bottom third of the country. Neighboring Nebraska is tied with Vermont for the third lowest rate at 3.2 percent. Illinois ranks 42nd in the country with an unemployment rate of 7.7 percent.
Hawaii is currently the only state with double digit unemployment at 10.2 percent.