Iowa’s unemployment rate climbed another notch in February to 6.7 percent, although state officials see signs of “tenuous” improvement deeper in the numbers.
“Iowa’s nonfarm employment has been in positive territory for two consecutive months, a sign that the state’s tenuous recovery may be gaining momentum,” Iowa Workforce Development Director Elisabeth Buck said in prepared remarks.
The number of Iowans classified as unemployed climbed by 1,800 in February to 112,500. That compared to 89,300 in February 2009, an increase of 26 percent.
Nonfarm employment increased 700 from January to February, however, and most of the broad employment sectors posted increases in employment for the month.
Nonfarm employment is still down 33,600 from February 2008. The number of layoffs dropped in the final months of 2009, state officials said.
Manufacturing employment was one of the hardest hit areas year-over-year, showing a decline of 13,200. Trade and transportation lost 6,900 jobs, while construction lost 5,600.
The numbers for the Cedar Rapids metro area paralleled the statewide trend.
Unemployment in the three-county Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area climbed from 7.3 percent in January to 7.4 percent in February, the highest of any MSA in Iowa. The unemployment rate for the City of Cedar Rapids was 6.9 percent, up from 6.8 percent in January.
Iowa City’s metro unemployment rate declined slightly from 5.1 percent to 5 percent, the lowest of any MSA in the state. The rate for the Iowa City municipal area was 3.8 percent, down from 3.9 percent.
Allamakee County had a 12 percent unemployment rate that was the state’s highest. Seven counties in the state had double-digit unemployment.
No comments:
Post a Comment