Jobless rate in county decreases by .5 percent

Henry County unemployment dropped by a half-percentage point to 5.2 percent in March from its 5.7 percent in February, according to statistics released this week by Iowa Workforce Development (IWD).

Statewide, unemployment inched up to 4.5 percent in March from 4.4 percent in February. Iowa unemployment was 4.8 percent in March 2013, according to IWD.

?The Iowa economy reached a milestone in March, as the state?s total employment level climbed to a record high of 1,615,200,? said Teresa Wahlert, IWD director. ?Total employment covers all working Iowans. It includes wage and salary workers on non-farm payrolls as well as agricultural workers, the self-employed and also workers in private households and unpaid family members.?

The statewide estimate of unemployed persons rose to 76,000 in March from 74,200 in February. The number of unemployed stood at 79,300 on year ago.

Number of working Iowans, Wahlert said, increased to 1,615,200 in March from 1,609,900 in February. The current figure (of employed Iowans) is 27,100 higher than one year ago.

Unemployment figures for Henry County?s neighboring counties, multi-county micropolitan areas and cities areas as follows (the February figure followed by March figure).

Counties: Appanoose, 7.0, 6.7; Davis, 6.4, 5.9; Des Moines, 6.5, 5.8; Iowa, 6.0, 5.8; Jefferson, 5.6, 5.4; Johnson, 3.3, 3.2; Keokuk, 5.8, 5,7; Lee, 7.7, 7.2; Louisa, 5.8, 5.6; Muscatine, 5.3, 5.3; Van Buren, 5.9, 5.5; Wapello, 6.1, 5.9; Washington, 5.1, 4.9.

Multi-county micropolitan areas: Burlington, 6.9, 6.1; Ft. Madison-Keokuk, 7.8, 7.3; Muscatine, 5.4, 5.3.

Cities: Burlington, 6.6, 5.9; Ottumwa, 6.2, 6.0.