Department of Numbers

Iowa Job Growth

There were 1,518,400 jobs in Iowa in May 2021 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 1,584,004 employed persons for the month. Iowa added 800 jobs in May 2021 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS employment measure rose by 4,969 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). Also available is Iowa job growth compared to other states.

Employment Survey May 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 1,518,400 +800 +97,200
CPS 1,584,004 +4,969 +60,942

Iowa Employment Changes

The charts below shows the monthly job growth for Iowa as measured by the CES and CPS surveys. To illustrate the trend, the 3 month moving average change in employment is shown in green.

CES Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

CPS Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

Total Employment in Iowa

CES employment peaked in January 2020 for Iowa at 1,593,800. Since then 75,400 jobs have been lost in Iowa according to the employer survey. From a trough of 1,412,500 in April 2020, Iowa has gained 105,900 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment in Iowa reached a maximum of 1,693,374 in October 2019. 109,370 jobs have been lost in Iowa since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 1,522,362, Iowa has added 61,642 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through May 2021

Iowa Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
May 2021 1,518,400 800 1,584,004 4,969
April 2021 1,517,600 -5,600 1,579,035 1,887
March 2021 1,523,200 12,400 1,577,148 6,916
February 2021 1,510,800 -4,400 1,570,232 3,089
January 2021 1,515,200 1,800 1,567,143 7,581
December 2020 1,513,400 4,400 1,559,562 -1,321
November 2020 1,509,000 -3,700 1,560,883 -513
October 2020 1,512,700 10,600 1,561,396 4,645
September 2020 1,502,100 11,100 1,556,751 8,240
August 2020 1,491,000 4,300 1,548,511 10,350
July 2020 1,486,700 26,600 1,538,161 9,618
June 2020 1,460,100 38,900 1,528,543 5,481

Data on deptofnumbers.com is for informational purposes only. No warranty or guarantee of accuracy is offered or implied. Contact [email protected] (or @deptofnumbers on Twitter) if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. Privacy policy.