The unemployment rate dropped below 2.5% for most of Iowa’s counties this April, including the KCII-listening area.

Unemployment decreased from 3.3% in March to 1.8% in April for Washington County, and for its contiguous counties it moved from 3.8 to 2.4% in Louisa, 3.3 to 2.3% in Henry, 2.8 to 2.0% in Jefferson, 3.8 to 2.5% in Keokuk, 3.3 to 1.9% in Iowa, and 2.5 to 1.8% in Johnson. Statewide unemployment lowered from 3.3 to 3.0%, and nationwide the rate stagnated at 3.6%. Iowa Workforce Development states the number of unemployed Iowans decreased to 50,900 in April from 55,600 in March. The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,646,800 in April, which is 10,000 higher than March and 45,100 higher than one year ago. Initial unemployment claims fell to 5,290 last month, the lowest monthly number seen since 1973.