Washington County and all of its contiguous counties saw a decline in unemployment from August to September. According to Iowa Workforce Development, Washington’s unemployment rate in August was 3.5% and it dropped to 3.3% in September with about 400 people unemployed in the county out of a workforce of 12,900. Wapello County had the highest unemployment rate in the state in September at 7.1%. The state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged during that time at 4.2%, below the country’s 5.0% unemployment.

County – August rate, September rate
Henry – 4.4, 3.9
Iowa – 3.2, 3.0
Jefferson – 4.6, 4.2
Johnson – 3.2, 2.9
Keokuk – 5.1, 4.6
Louisa – 4.5, 3.9
Washington – 3.5, 3.3
State of Iowa – 4.2, 4.2