Department of Numbers

Ames, Iowa Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Ames fell 0.3 percentage points in July 2010 to 5.4%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 1.4 percentage points lower than the Iowa rate. The unemployment rate in Ames peaked in April 2010 at 6.9% and is now 0.1 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 6.7% in June 2010, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.1 percentage points.

Unemployment Rate July 2010 Month/Month Year/Year
National 9.5% 0.0 +0.1
Iowa 6.8% +0.1 +0.7
Ames 5.4% -0.3 +0.8
Note: Metro level data is not seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with July 2010 data as August metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Ames, Iowa, National

Ames, Iowa monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Ames, Iowa Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Ames peaked in June 2010 at 2,732. There are now 146 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Ames employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Ames, Iowa) is also available.

Unemployed Persons July 2010 Month/Month Year/Year
Ames 2,586 -146 +398

Number of Unemployed Persons

Ames, Iowa Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate
Iowa
Unemployment Rate
Ames
Unemployment Rate
Ames
Unemployed
August
2010
9.6%
July
2010
9.5% 6.8% 5.4% 2,586
June
2010
9.5% 6.7% 5.7% 2,732
May
2010
9.7% 6.8% 4.8% 2,347
April
2010
9.9% 6.9% 5.0% 2,510
March
2010
9.7% 6.8% 5.4% 2,640
February
2010
9.7% 6.7% 5.3% 2,619
January
2010
9.7% 6.6% 5.3% 2,563
December
2009
10.0% 6.5% 4.9% 2,406
November
2009
10.0% 6.5% 4.5% 2,260
October
2009
10.1% 6.5% 4.1% 2,015
September
2009
9.8% 6.4% 4.5% 2,230
August
2009
9.7% 6.3% 5.0% 2,388

1. Metro area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted while state and national rates are. In practice this means the metro rates may be noisier on a month-to-month basis than the state and national series due to seasonal effects. It's probably better to use year-over-year comparisons.