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“Iowa has started the long journey back from a deep and prolonged recession,” said Elisabeth Buck, director of Iowa Workforce Development. “Recent indicators show that confidence is beginning to rebuild among the state’s employers, which will gradually lead to hiring activity.”

Iowa’s pool of unemployed workers increased to 111,000 in January from 109,800 in December. The estimate of unemployed persons was reported at 86,900 for January 2009.

The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,570,200 in January from 1,567,600 in December. Total employment was 18,900 higher one year ago at 1,589,100.

Total nonfarm employment increased by 4,600 in January, bringing the new total to 1,463,400. Employers in both the goods-producing and service-providing industries added workers this month. Some sectors, including retail trade and leisure and hospitality, rebounded to normal operating levels in January following a disappointing holiday season.

Trade and transportation added the most jobs this month, up 3,400. Increases in retail trade more than offset the drops in transportation and wholesale trade. Leisure and hospitality, which reflected anemic employment numbers in December, recovered somewhat in January with a gain of 3,000. Elsewhere, construction gained 1,900; and education and health care increased by 1,000. Job losses were distributed across several sectors. Finance shed 1,400; professional and business services pared 1,200; manufacturing declined by 1,100, and government dropped by 700.

Compared to last January, the Iowa economy has lost 38,200 jobs, or 2.5 percent of its nonfarm employment. Manufacturing accounted for an overwhelming share of the over-the-year losses at 16,600. Trade and transportation came in a distant second with a decrease of 7,000, and construction incurred the third largest loss at 5,200. Education and health was the only sector to show a relatively large gain of 3,300 jobs.

MEDIA ALERT: An audio cut of comments about Iowa’s labor market situation is available by calling (515) 281-6057. State and local data will be available on March 26, 2010.

Employment and Unemployment In Iowa, Seasonally Adjusted Data                     Change From   January 2010 December 2009 January 2009 December 2009 January 2009 Civilian Labor Force 1,681,100 1, 677,400 1,676,000 3,700 5,100 Unemployment 111,000 109,800 86,900 1,200 24,100 Unemployment Rate 6.6% 6.5% 5.2% 0.1 1.4 Employment 1,570,200 1,567,600 1,589,100 2,600 -18,900                 U.S. Employment Rate 9.7% 10.0% 7.7% -0.3 2.0             Nonfarm Employment In Iowa, Seasonally Adjusted Data             Total Nonfarm Employment 1,463,400 1,458,800 1,501,600 4,600 -38,200 Mining 2,100 2,200 2,000 -100 100 Construction 62,900 61,000 68,100 1,900 -5,200 Manufacturing 199,000 200,100 215,600 -1,100 -16,600 Trade, Transportation and Utilities 298,700 295,300 305,700 3,400 -7,000 Information 29,500 29,400 31,600 100 -2,100 Financial Activities 100,700 102,100 102,300 -1,400 -1,600 Professional and Business Services 116,700 117,900 120,500 -1,200 -3,800 Education and Health Services 213,300 212,300 210,000 1,000 3,300 Leisure and Hospitality 131,200 128,200 133,500 3,000 -2,300 Other Services 57,100 57,400 57,900 -300 -800 Government 252,200 252,900 254,400 -700 -2,200

Visit www.iowaworkforce.org/lmi/laborforce/locallaborforce.html for county unemployment rates,
www.iowaworkforce.org/lmi/laborforce/index.html for current and historical labor force data and
www.iowaworkforce.org/lmi/empstat/msanonag.htm for detailed information on nonfarm employment.

Visit www.iowaworkforce.org/trends/wages.html for information on hours and earnings and
www.iowaworkforce.org/trends/uiclaimscomo.html to obtain a breakout of jobless benefits by county.

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