Department of Numbers

Iowa City, Iowa Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Iowa City fell 0.1 percentage points in September 2022 to 2.2%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.5 percentage points lower than the Iowa rate. The unemployment rate in Iowa City peaked in April 2020 at 9.5% and is now 7.3 percentage points lower. You can also compare Iowa City unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate September 2022 Month/Month Year/Year
National 3.5% -0.2 -1.2
Iowa 2.7% +0.1 -1.4
Iowa City 2.2% -0.1 -1.0
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with September 2022 data as October metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Iowa City, Iowa, National

Iowa City, Iowa monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Iowa City, Iowa Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Iowa City peaked in April 2020 at 9,315. There are now 7,117 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Iowa City employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Iowa City, Iowa) is also available.

Unemployed Persons September 2022 Month/Month Year/Year
Iowa City 2,198 -42 -854

Number of Unemployed Persons

Iowa City, Iowa Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Iowa
Unemployment Rate		 Iowa City
Unemployment Rate		 Iowa City
Unemployed
October
2022		 3.7% — — —
September
2022		 3.5% 2.7% 2.2% 2,198
August
2022		 3.7% 2.6% 2.3% 2,240
July
2022		 3.5% 2.5% 2.3% 2,258
June
2022		 3.6% 2.6% 2.4% 2,360
May
2022		 3.6% 2.7% 2.5% 2,485
April
2022		 3.6% 3.0% 2.7% 2,630
March
2022		 3.6% 3.3% 2.9% 2,805
February
2022		 3.8% 3.5% 3.0% 2,894
January
2022		 4.0% 3.7% 3.1% 2,982
December
2021		 3.9% 3.9% 3.1% 3,006
November
2021		 4.2% 3.9% 3.1% 3,014

1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩

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