DES MOINES, Iowa — Editor's Note: The video above is from Aug. 6.
Iowa reports 4.1% unemployment rate for July, increase in Iowans looking for work
Iowa experienced a slight increase in unemployment from June to July, but things are looking up when it comes to labor participation, according to the Iowa Workforce Development (IWD).
July's unemployment rate increased to 4.1% from 4.0% in June. Last year's unemployment rate for July was 6.1%.
The U.S. unemployment rate sits at 5.4%.
IWD reports the total number of working Iowans increased to 1,593,600 last month, which is 55,400 higher than July 2020.
Jobs increased from June to July by 5,700. In addition to those newly employed Iowans, IWD reports 800 more unemployed Iowans are searching for work, meaning the state's labor force participation rate increased from 66.6% in June to 66.9% in July.
“From May to July we saw an increase of 175% in the number of people visiting our IowaWORKS job centers to take active steps towards finding work, and that trend has continued in August,” said Beth Townsend, director of Iowa Workforce Development. “As we’ve seen over the past few months, Iowans are re-entering the labor force in increasing numbers, and this shows that we continue to move in the right direction.”
Watch: How will ending $300 federal unemployment payments impact Iowa?