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Iowa’s jobless rate stays flat; Q-C sees softening

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By Dan Gearino
QUAD-CITY TIMES
Des Moines Bureau | Wednesday, September 26, 2007 12:32 AM CDT | () comments

DES MOINES — The number of employed Iowans fell to its lowest level of the year in August, continuing a gradual softening of the job market, according to estimates released Tuesday by Iowa Workforce Development.

Elisabeth Buck, director of the agency, emphasized the positive.

“Despite weak job growth in August, the statewide unemployment rate remained stable,” she said in a statement.

The unemployment rate

was 3.9 percent in August, the same as July. The reason the rate is the same, despite the decline in employment, is that the number of people actively looking for work also has declined.

The total number of employed Iowans was 1,591,800, down 4,600 from July and down 18,500 from the record high last November.

Looking at specific sectors, the construction industry grew by 600 workers in August, which goes against a national trend. The greatest gain was in government, which added 1,100 jobs. The greatest loss was in trade transportation and utilities, which shed 600 jobs.

In the Quad-City region, comparative jobless rates were:

- Scott County, 3.7 percent in August, 3.6 percent in July.

- Muscatine County, 3.2 percent in August, 3.1 percent in July.

- Clinton County, 4 percent in August, 3.8 percent in July.

- Jackson County, 4.2 percent in August, 4.1 percent in July.

The county rates are not seasonally adjusted. Because of this, and because of the smaller populations involved, the county rates often have more rapid fluctuations than the

state rates, though most of the larger counties were stable in August.

Elliott Smith, executive director of the Iowa Business Council, said the overall economy is strong, though there are concerns about a slowdown in the housing and mortgage markets. His organization is a coalition of 20 of Iowa’s largest companies.

“I haven’t seen any real signs of downturn or panic or people laying off large numbers of employees. Generally things are good here,” Smith said.

The Business Council released a survey earlier this month showing that nearly all of its members are upbeat about sales and hiring for the next six months.

Mike Owen, assistant director of the Iowa Policy Project, a Mount Vernon-based think tank, said the economy is continuing a long-term trend of sluggish growth. He said the drop in overall employment is not reason for alarm.

“There isn’t a lot of change represented by these numbers,” Owen said.

Dan Gearino can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 and dan.gearino@lee.net. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.