(Des Moines)– According to a report from Iowa Workforce Development, the state’s unemployment rate climbed to 4.6 percent in December, up from 4.3 percent in November.
That’s compared to an unemployment rate of 3.8 percent a year ago.
Iowa’s rate is still lower than the national average, which was 7.2 percent in December. Federal data shows the United States has lost 3.6 million jobs.
Iowa Workforce Development Director Elizabeth Buck says an acceleration in layoffs toward the end of the year was responsible for the large increase in the December unemployment rate.
Iowa saw 7,800 non-farm jobs slashed in December from November.
According to the state, the monthly loss was the largest drop since October 2001.
Locally, Dickinson county’s jobless rate for December stood at 5.4 percent…up from 4.2 percent in November.
Clay county saw its jobless rate go from 3.4 percent in November to four percent in December.
In Emmet county, unemployment went from 4.1 percent in November to 4.8 percent in December.
Osceola county saw it’s jobless rate go from 3.5 percent in November to 4.6 percent in December.
In O’Brien county, the rate increased from 3.1 percent in November to 3.6 percent in December.
And Palo Alto county saw its unemployment rate increase from 4.1 percent in November to four and-a-half percent in December.
(A portion of this story was provided by the Associated Press).
