Iowa’s Unemployment Rate at 3.7 Percent in January

Iowa Workforce Development Communications
For Immediate Release
Date: March 14, 2022
Contact: Jesse Dougherty
Telephone: 515-725-5487
Email: communications@iwd.iowa.gov

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Iowa’s Unemployment Rate at 3.7 Percent in January

DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 3.7 percent in January from the revised December rate of 3.9 percent. The state’s jobless rate was 4.4 percent one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate in January increased to 4.0 percent.

The total number of unemployed Iowans decreased to 62,700 in January, down 2,200 from revised December data. Iowa businesses added 3,000 jobs in January, and the total number of working Iowans increased by 6,900 to 1,617,700. The labor force participation rate increased slightly to 66.8 percent.

“These numbers show Iowa’s economic recovery is continuing to press forward,” said Beth Townsend, Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “IWD’s role is to continue that momentum by getting unemployed Iowans back into the workforce as quickly as possible. Since January, more than 640 Iowans involved in our Reemployment Case Management program have found new jobs. We will work as hard as possible to keep that number growing.”

The last five years of monthly labor force data (2017-2021) recently were revised as required by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. This “benchmarking” is the periodic process of re-estimating statistics as more complete data becomes available, such as updated data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Prior-year estimates for the Current Employment Statistics (CES) and Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) programs – key statistical measures of employment – are benchmarked annually. Revised data are incorporated in January employment statistics when they are released each March.

Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment

Iowa businesses added 3,000 jobs in January, lifting total nonfarm employment to 1,556,300. Much of the increase stemmed from those industries involved in goods production, although service industries had some gains, particularly those related to accommodations and eating and drinking establishments. Private industries advanced by 1,600 jobs, and government added 1,400 (with 800 jobs being in local government). Compared to last year, government is now up 7,900 jobs, mostly due to growth at the local level.

Leisure and hospitality added the most jobs in January (+2,500). Aside from a mild loss of 800 jobs in December, this industry has generally trended up steadily since COVID quarantine efforts. Most gains were within accommodations and food services, which are up 6,500 jobs since August. Manufacturing added 1,700 jobs, with the bulk of gains in nondurable goods production (+1,100) and many related to food production and animal slaughtering and processing. Construction gained 600 jobs and now has added 2,800 jobs over the past three months. Sector losses were led by professional and business services (-2,200), mostly stemming from the administrative management and waste remediation services industry. This sector has been sluggish for several months and trails last year’s mark by 2,700 jobs. Other services lost 1,000 jobs, mostly as a result of cutbacks in personal care industries. Smaller losses included trade, transportation, and utilities (-700) and information (-200).

Annually, total nonfarm employment is up 31,100 jobs (+2.0 percent). Leisure and hospitality continue to restaff and lead all sectors with 16,500 jobs, most of which (+14,000) are within accommodations and food services. Manufacturing has added 4,200 jobs. Gains have been in both durable and nondurable goods workshops. Construction has shown some recent signs of hiring and is now up 2,800 jobs. Annual job losses have been led by health care and social assistance (-3,200). This sector has been slower to rehire to pre-pandemic levels and has shed 800 jobs in the last two months. Finance and insurance have been slowly reducing staff levels and are down 900 jobs compared to last January.

MEDIA ALERT: Local data for January 2022 is available on the IWD website. Statewide data for February 2022 will be released on Friday, March 25, 2022.

Employment and Unemployment in Iowa, Seasonally Adjusted Data

				Change from
	January	December	January	December	January
	2022	2021	2021	2021	2021

Civilian labor force	1,680,400	1,675,600	1,663,600	4,800	16,800
Unemployment	62,700	64,900	73,100	-2,200	-10,400
Unemployment rate	3.7%	3.9%	4.4%	-0.2	-0.7
Employment	1,617,700	1,610,800	1,590,500	6,900	27,200
Labor Force Participation Rate	66.8%	66.7%	66.5%	0.1	0.3

U.S. unemployment rate	4.0%	3.9%	6.4%	0.1	-2.4

Nonfarm Employment in Iowa, Seasonally Adjusted Data

Total Nonfarm Employment	1,556,300	1,553,300	1,525,200	3,000	31,100
Mining	2,500	2,400	2,300	100	200
Construction	80,100	79,500	77,300	600	2,800
Manufacturing	221,500	219,800	217,300	1,700	4,200
Trade, transportation and utilities	311,700	312,400	308,300	-700	3,400
Information	19,000	19,200	18,600	-200	400
Financial activities	108,600	108,200	109,500	400	-900
Professional and business services	138,200	140,400	139,400	-2,200	-1,200
Education and health services	224,100	223,700	227,500	400	-3,400
Leisure and hospitality	137,500	135,000	121,000	2,500	16,500
Other services	55,400	56,400	54,200	-1,000	1,200
Government	257,700	256,300	249,800	1,400	7,900
(above data subject to revision)

Unemployment Insurance Claims for Iowa

				% Change from
	January	December	January	December	January
	2022	2021	2021	2021	2021

Initial claims	13,052	17,762	25,093	-26.5%	-48.0%
Continued claims
Benefit recipients	28,469	17,573	46,120	62.0%	-38.3%
Weeks paid	91,868	61,696	156,961	48.9%	-41.5%
Amount paid	$42,014,680	$26,730,595	$61,685,216	57.2%	-31.9%

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