Counties across the KCII-listening area saw their unemployment rate decrease this July following a couple months of upticks.

Data from Iowa Workforce Development shows that Washington County’s rate decreased from 4% in June to 3.4% in July. For its contiguous counties, Iowa County saw the largest digit decrease from 4% in June to 3.2% in July, followed by Henry with a dip from 4.6-3.9% and Keokuk with 4.8-4.1%, Johnson with 4.4-3.8%, Jefferson with 4.8-4.3%, and Louisa with 4-3.8%. Comparatively, all 99 counties have a lower rate than July of 2020, as Washington County’s rate was 4.2% this time last year. Statewide Iowa’s unemployment has ticked up slightly from 4-4.1%, though nationwide unemployment dipped from 5.9-5.4%. The total number of working Iowans increased by 5,700 to 1,593,600. The number of unemployed Iowans looking for work also rose by 800, resulting in the state’s labor force participation rate increasing from 66.6-66.9%.