Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 3.0% in January, a slight decrease from December’s 3.2%. The total number of unemployed individuals dropped to 50,900, down 1,100 from December. However, the state’s workforce participation rate dipped to 67.3%.

Despite a decrease in retail jobs after the holidays, nonfarm jobs remained 12,700 above the previous year’s total. Iowa Workforce Development emphasizes the importance of retaining and recruiting individuals for the over 58,000 job openings in the state. Beth Townsend encourages those out of the workforce to explore career opportunities with Iowa Workforce Development.