Posted 19 May, 2025
Iowa’s labor force participation rate rose to 67.2 percent in April as 5,000 Iowans joined the workforce. Meanwhile, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 3.5 percent in April, up slightly from 3.4 percent in March. Iowa’s jobless rate was 2.8 percent one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 4.2 percent in April.
The total number of unemployed Iowans increased to 60,600 in April from 58,600 in March.
The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,667,100 in April. This figure is 3,000 higher than in March and 4,500 higher than one year ago. The labor force participation rate increased to 67.2 percent from 67.0 percent in March.
“April’s report showed significant job growth, as well as more Iowans returning to the workforce,” said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “We saw new workers from all age groups coming back into the workforce to take jobs in construction, health care, leisure and hospitality, as well as accounting and tax services. The good news for Iowans coming back into the workforce is that there are still more than 50,000 jobs available at IowaWorks.gov.”