Photo: Iowa Workforce Development
(Undated) -- Iowa now has more jobs than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Jesse Dougherty with Iowa Workforce Development says Iowa added 4,500 jobs last month.
"October's growth brought us over the line in terms of the jobs we lost during the pandemic," says Dougherty. "So in other words Iowa is now above the employment level that it had pre-pandemic."
Iowa's unemployment rate went up .2% in October to 2.9%, but that's because Iowa is adding more jobs than workers.
"It's possible that we have more Iowans entering the labor pool but at the same time more employers are adding jobs," says Dougherty. "I think a good reason for the unemployment rate ticking up was due to more Iowans re-entering the labor force."
Some of the biggest October job gains came in leisure and hospitality.
"Leisure and hospitality led October with 2,300 jobs, manufacturing gained 500 jobs," says Dougherty. "We also saw gains in healthcare, retail, financial activities, and construction."
Iowa's full unemployment statistics are available online at iowalmi.gov.