Washington and some contiguous counties saw their unemployment rate rise this December.

According to Iowa Workforce Development, Washington County saw a 2.7% unemployment rate in December, an increase from 2.3% in November. This is also a slight increase from 2.6% in December 2019. The only contiguous county that has a lower unemployment rate this year than December 2019 is Louisa with 3.3%. That’s a slight increase from 3% in November 2020. Neighboring counties that saw an increase from November were Iowa at 2.6%, Keokuk at 3.5%, and Henry at 3.1%. Jefferson saw a slight decrease from November at 3.1%, and Johnson saw no change from the previous month with 2.8%. Statewide, December unemployment was at 3.1%, and nationally the rate was 6.7%. The number of Iowans who filed for unemployment also decreased, with 50,800 who filed in December compared to 60,800 in November.