(Undated) — Iowa’s job market is feeling the effects of layoffs and an aging workforce, with the state’s unemployment rate holding steady at 2.8 percent in July. The economy lost 15-hundred jobs due to closures and layoffs, with 21-thousand workers leaving the workforce over the past year, mostly due to retirements. Joshua Rosenbloom of Iowa State University suggests that layoffs may be accelerating retirements, potentially impacting companies’ ability to find workers for expansion. Despite still being up 19-thousand jobs from a year ago, more layoffs at Deere could change the job market landscape in Iowa.
Minnesota’s unemployment rate rose by three-tenths of a percent between June and July. The state Department of Employment and Economic Development announced yesterday that last month’s unemployment rate rose from two-point-nine to three-point-two percent. The state labor force fell by 22-hundred and the number of jobs available fell by 11-hundred. A spokesperson said the state’s economy “remains in a strong place,” with businesses planning to hire more employees and expected expansions that will create thousands of jobs.
