Unemployment Inches Upward

Unemployment rates in local counties moved upward in August, though area officials expressed little concern about the change. Dubuque County’s unemployment rate was 3.1% in August, an increase from 2.9% in July and 2.8% in August 2022, according to recently released data from Iowa Workforce Development. While unemployment is up from 2022 rates, Nic Hockenberry, director of workforce programming at Greater Dubuque Development Corp., said August data maintains the trend with the ongoing recovery from pandemic-related job losses. Elsewhere in Iowa, Clayton County’s unemployment rate was 3.3% in August, up from 3.0% a year earlier, according to state data. Delaware County’s rate was 2.8%, up from 2.3%. Jackson County’s rate was 3.7%, up from 3.2%. Jones County’s rate was 3.2%, up from 2.9% a year earlier. Iowa’s statewide unemployment rate was 2.9% in August, even with the August 2022 rate and below the nationwide rate of 3.8% in August 2023.