Posted 19 September, 2025
Iowa added 1,900 people to the labor force in August, led primarily by adults ages 20 to 24, increasing the state’s labor force participation rate to 67.5 percent (up from 67.4 percent in July). At the same time, Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.8 percent (up from 3.7 percent in July), and the U.S. unemployment rate increased to 4.3 percent (up from 4.2 percent in July).
The total number of unemployed Iowans increased to 65,800 in August from 64,900 in July.
The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,673,500 in August. This figure is 1,100 higher than in July and 13,200 higher than one year ago.