Unemployment increased for the second month in a row across the KCII listening area this January.

Louisa County had the highest unemployment of Washington’s contiguous counties with 5.3% in January compared to 3.2% in December. Keokuk County was close behind at 5.2% from 3.3% in December, while Washington County saw the largest percentage point gap from 2.5% in December to 4.5% in January. Iowa County’s rose from 2.6-4.3%, Henry moved from 2.6-4%, Jefferson increased from 2.9-3.8%, and Johnson rose from 2.5-3.2%. However, Washington and its surrounding counties’ unemployment is still lower than January of 2021. Unemployment rose in the U.S. from 3.9-4.0%, though the state’s decreased to 3.7% from the revised December rate of 3.9%. Leisure and hospitality added the most jobs in Iowa this January out of all sectors, while losses were led by professional and business services, according to Iowa Workforce Development.