Iowa's February jobless rate climbs to 4.9 percent

Iowa's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased slightly in February but remains far beneath the national rate.

Iowa Workforce Development announced Tuesday that Iowa's rate inched up to 4.9 percent from the January rate of 4.8 percent. In February 2008, Iowa's jobless rate was 3.9 percent.

The national unemployment rate for February was 8.1 percent, the highest level since 1983.

The jobless rate claims in portions of northwest Iowa are ahead of state average, but the gap seems to be closing as many of the the region's numbers rebound.

Unemployment in Clay County decreased from 5.6 percent to 5.2 percent in February.

Unemployment in Dickinson County is down from 8.2 in January to 6.7 percent in the most recent numbers. Palo Alto County went from 7.2 to 6.8.

The unemployment rate in Buena Vista County remains below state averages and held steady at 4.2 percent.

Other counties in the region saw fairly steady numbers as well. Emmet County went from 6.8 in January to 6.7 in February; Cherokee County went from 4.6 to 4.4 and Osceola County went from 5.4 to 5.3.

Unemployment climbed slightly in O'Brien County, from 5.0 in January to 5.2 in the most recent numbers. Pocahontas County unemployment rose from 3.8 to 4.3.

Workforce Development says about 1.6 million Iowans were working in February, down about 22,000 from a year ago.

"Although Iowa remains in a better position than most states to weather the current recession, job losses have deepened over the past six months," said Elisabeth Buck, director of Iowa Workforce Development. "Iowa employers continue to trim their payrolls in response to declining sales and profits."