Iowa’s unemployment rate decreased from 3.7 percent in October to 3.6 percent in November, Iowa Workforce Development said Friday. But the state’s labor force participation rate also declined, to its lowest point since 1977.
It marks the seventh consecutive month of decreases in the state’s unemployment rate after it peaked at 11 percent in April.
“November’s rate remained steady as Iowa’s workforce adjusts to the seasonal shifts we typically see this time of year,” Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend said in a news release.
The state’s labor force shrunk by 16,000 people, bringing the state’s labor force participation rate to 65.3 percent.