Iowa unemployment moves higher

Published 2:50 pm Saturday, December 19, 2009

Unemployment in Iowa showed a slight increase to 6.7 percent in November, compared to the previous month’s revised rate of 6.6 percent.

The U.S. unemployment rate in November was 10 percent. A year ago, Iowa’s unemployment rate was 4.3 percent.

According to Iowa Workforce Development, there were 113,100 unemployed Iowans in November, 1,100 more than October and 40,300 more than a year ago.

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Workforce Development director Elisabeth Buck says despite the uptick in unemployment, Iowa’s labor market continues to show signs of stabilizing. She adds it will take some time before the state can achieve a sustainable recovery.

Officials say Iowa added 2,100 jobs from October to November in trade, transportation and utilities; 1,300 more jobs in professional and business services; and 1,000 more jobs both in manufacturing and other services.