County jobless rate rises by .7 percent

There was not good news on the unemployment front for Henry County in June.

County unemployment shot upward by .7 percent to 7.6 percent during the month, according to state figures released today by Iowa Workforce Development. Ironically, the state also announced in July that the Henry County Workforce Development office, now located at the Fellowship Cup, will be reduced to one-day per-week (Tuesdays) staffing.

Most southeast Iowa counties showed a rise in unemployment in June. Following are the June figures, preceded by May?s unemployment rate, for neighboring counties:

Appanoose, 6.9, 7.2; Davis, 6.5, 7.1; Des Moines, 7.2, 7.5; Jefferson, 6.7, 7.2; Johnson, 4.1, 4.9; Keokuk, 5.8, 6.5; Lee, 8.8, 8.8; Van Buren, 6.7, 7.2; Wapello, 7.1, 7.9; Washington, 4.5, 5.2.

Unemployment in the Fort Madison-Keokuk corridor rose from 8.9 to 9.3 percent while the Burlington area unemployment showed a modest increase from 7.2 to 7.4 percent. In the City of Burlington, unemployment rose to 8.1 percent from 7.8 percent. Ottumwa?s unemployment was 8.3 percent, compared with 7.6 percent in May.

Iowa?s unemployment remained at 6 percent. The nation?s jobless rate rose slightly from 9.1 to 9.2 percent.