(The Center Square) – Iowa’s May unemployment rate remained the same in April at 2.8%, according to Iowa Workforce Development.
The labor participation rate declined slightly in May from 66.8% to 66.7%. Fewer Iowans were unemployed as the number fell from 47,200 in April to 46,900 in May, according to statistics from IWD.
“After strong job growth earlier this year, Iowa saw moderate decreases in hiring across many industries, except health care,” said Beth Townsend, IWD executive director. “We also know that IWD’s Reemployment Case Management program has been very successful in helping unemployed Iowans find their next job in the shortest time possible. IowaWORKS Career Planners provide one-on-one assistance for jobless Iowans from the very beginning and can help them find their next opportunity at one of the 56,000+ job openings around the state.”
The education and health care sector was the biggest gainer at 1,400 jobs. The only other sector with a sizable increase was leisure and hospitality, with 500 additional, which IWD attributed to recreational industries such as amusement and gambling.
Nine hundred jobs were lost in professional business services, with administrative support and waste management losing the most, at 1,100.
The other services category dropped 700 jobs. Those jobs include ones in civic, professional and similar organizations, according to IWD.
The wholesale and retail trade industry experienced its first job loss since January, with a depletion of 500 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities, according to the statistics.
The May numbers were better when compared to the same period last year. Nearly 24,000 jobs were added in the past year with 6,900 of them coming from the education and health care sector. The accommodations and food service industries sparked an increase of 6,500 jobs in leisure and hospitality, according to IWD.
The trade, transportation and utilities sector had the biggest loss year-over-year at 1,700.
