Department of Numbers

Iowa City, Iowa Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Iowa City fell 0.3 percentage points in November 2021 to 2.5%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 1.2 percentage points lower than the Iowa rate. The unemployment rate in Iowa City peaked in April 2020 at 10.1% and is now 7.6 percentage points lower. You can also compare Iowa City unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate November 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
National 4.2% -0.4 -2.5
Iowa 3.7% -0.2 -0.2
Iowa City 2.5% -0.3 -1.2
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with November 2021 data as December 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 9,815. There are now 7,538 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 November 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
Iowa City 2,277 -361 -1,126

Number of Unemployed Persons

Iowa City, Iowa Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Iowa
Unemployment Rate		 Iowa City
Unemployment Rate		 Iowa City
Unemployed
December
2021		 3.9% — — —
November
2021		 4.2% 3.7% 2.5% 2,277
October
2021		 4.6% 3.9% 2.8% 2,638
September
2021		 4.7% 4.0% 2.7% 2,521
August
2021		 5.2% 4.1% 3.3% 3,075
July
2021		 5.4% 4.1% 3.2% 3,006
June
2021		 5.9% 4.0% 3.8% 3,517
May
2021		 5.8% 3.9% 3.7% 3,419
April
2021		 6.0% 3.8% 3.6% 3,334
March
2021		 6.0% 3.7% 3.5% 3,272
February
2021		 6.2% 3.7% 3.5% 3,237
January
2021		 6.4% 3.6% 3.4% 3,170

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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