Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Iowa
Unemployment rates, while significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, remain a subject of concern, notably as economic experts bandy around the idea of a potential recession by 2023. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2008-2010—sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.
As of October of this year, national unemployment is at 3.7%, 0.2% higher than in September. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 2.0% in Minnesota, to 4.5% in Illinois and 4.7% in the District of Columbia. Further breakdown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows yet another county-based spectrum within each state.
To that end, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rate in Iowa using data from the BLS. Counties are ranked by unemployment rate in September 2022.
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#50. Worth County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 3,970 (84 unemployed)
#49. Wright County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
- Total labor force: 6,684 (143 unemployed)
#48. Harrison County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 7,161 (157 unemployed)
#47. Jefferson County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 10,139 (218 unemployed)
#46. Monroe County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 3,960 (88 unemployed)
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#45. Montgomery County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 4,875 (107 unemployed)
#44. Poweshiek County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
- Total labor force: 10,980 (238 unemployed)
#43. Tama County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 9,087 (202 unemployed)
#42. Cerro Gordo County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 22,344 (512 unemployed)
#41. Clay County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 8,600 (195 unemployed)
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#40. Emmet County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 4,916 (111 unemployed)
#39. Fayette County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 10,108 (234 unemployed)
#38. Floyd County
--- 1 month change: -0.9%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 8,118 (188 unemployed)
#37. Guthrie County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 5,519 (127 unemployed)
#36. Hardin County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 7,840 (182 unemployed)
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#35. Monona County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 4,363 (102 unemployed)
#34. Page County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 6,307 (145 unemployed)
#33. Union County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 6,135 (141 unemployed)
#32. Van Buren County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.7%
- Total labor force: 3,667 (86 unemployed)
#31. Woodbury County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 55,811 (1,279 unemployed)
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#30. Appanoose County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 5,902 (141 unemployed)
#29. Buchanan County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.4%
- Total labor force: 11,241 (266 unemployed)
#28. Clarke County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 4,844 (114 unemployed)
#27. Clayton County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 9,642 (229 unemployed)
#26. Fremont County
--- 1 month change: -0.3%
--- 1 year change: -0.1%
- Total labor force: 3,685 (89 unemployed)
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#25. Hamilton County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 6,937 (168 unemployed)
#24. Madison County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 8,645 (209 unemployed)

#23. Polk County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
- Total labor force: 275,236 (6,614 unemployed)
#22. Pottawattamie County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 48,470 (1,152 unemployed)
#21. Winnebago County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 4,897 (116 unemployed)
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#20. Henry County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 9,752 (243 unemployed)
#19. Jasper County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 18,639 (470 unemployed)
#18. Jones County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 10,284 (258 unemployed)
#17. Louisa County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 5,857 (145 unemployed)
#16. Benton County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 13,067 (342 unemployed)
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#15. Black Hawk County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 68,886 (1,767 unemployed)
#14. Dubuque County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -0.8%
- Total labor force: 55,438 (1,461 unemployed)
#13. Jackson County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 10,688 (277 unemployed)
#12. Keokuk County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 5,118 (131 unemployed)
#11. Muscatine County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 20,868 (538 unemployed)
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#10. Allamakee County
--- 1 month change: -0.1%
--- 1 year change: -0.6%
- Total labor force: 7,023 (190 unemployed)
#9. Wapello County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
- Total labor force: 17,112 (470 unemployed)
#8. Webster County
--- 1 month change: -0.8%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
- Total labor force: 18,397 (510 unemployed)
#7. Crawford County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
- Total labor force: 7,804 (225 unemployed)
#6. Linn County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
- Total labor force: 121,614 (3,561 unemployed)
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#5. Scott County
--- 1 month change: -0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
- Total labor force: 91,080 (2,717 unemployed)
#4. Clinton County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
- Total labor force: 22,079 (724 unemployed)
#3. Marshall County
--- 1 month change: -0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
- Total labor force: 16,968 (619 unemployed)
#2. Des Moines County
--- 1 month change: -0.6%
--- 1 year change: -2.1%
- Total labor force: 18,188 (740 unemployed)
#1. Lee County
--- 1 month change: -0.5%
--- 1 year change: -0.2%
- Total labor force: 15,308 (755 unemployed)
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