A report from the Iowa Department of Revenue shows and three month’s of consecutive increases in the state’s leading economic index. However, Kerry Koonce, with Workforce Development says employment numbers have been fairly static. Iowa’s unemployment rate eased slightly in December from 6.7, to 6.6 percent. In Washington County, unemployment rose by nearly a percentage point from 5.1, to 5.8 percent. The national average is at 10 percent.