Department of Numbers

Iowa City, Iowa Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Iowa City fell 0.0 percentage points in November 2020 to 3.3%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.3 percentage points lower than the Iowa rate. The unemployment rate in Iowa City peaked in April 2020 at 10.1% and is now 6.8 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 3.3% in October 2020, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.0 percentage points. You can also compare Iowa City unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate November 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
National 6.7% -0.2 +3.1
Iowa 3.6% -0.1 +0.8
Iowa City 3.3% 0.0 +1.1
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with November 2020 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 9,733. There are now 6,645 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 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
Iowa City 3,088 -52 +884

Number of Unemployed Persons

Iowa City, Iowa Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Iowa
Unemployment Rate		 Iowa City
Unemployment Rate		 Iowa City
Unemployed
December
2020		 6.7% — — —
November
2020		 6.7% 3.6% 3.3% 3,088
October
2020		 6.9% 3.7% 3.3% 3,140
September
2020		 7.8% 4.8% 4.4% 4,148
August
2020		 8.4% 6.3% 6.0% 5,743
July
2020		 10.2% 6.8% 6.3% 6,089
June
2020		 11.1% 8.4% 7.4% 7,224
May
2020		 13.3% 10.2% 9.2% 8,960
April
2020		 14.8% 11.0% 10.1% 9,733
March
2020		 4.4% 3.3% 2.7% 2,686
February
2020		 3.5% 2.8% 2.2% 2,194
January
2020		 3.5% 2.8% 2.2% 2,190

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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