Polk County, IA monthly unemployment update

Stacker compiled statistics about the unemployment rate in Polk County using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. County and metro unemployment rates are as of April 2023.

Polk County had a 2.2% unemployment rate in April 2023, marking a 0.7 percentage point decrease from a month ago. Iowa reported a 2.7% unemployment rate in May, which is the 15th lowest in the country. The national unemployment rate last month rose to 3.7% but is still 0.1 percentage points higher than last year.

The unemployment rate in the Des Moines, IA metropolitan area was 2.1%, which is 0.1 percentage points lower than Polk County. Des Moines has the 132nd lowest unemployment out of 887 metro and micro areas surveyed in the country.

Counties with the highest unemployment rate in Iowa
#1. Marshall County: 5.7%
#2. Crawford County: 4.4%
#3. Clayton County: 3.4%
#3. Des Moines County: 3.4%
#5. Lee County: 3.2%

Counties with the lowest unemployment rate in Iowa
#1. Osceola County: 1.4%
#2. Ida County: 1.5%
#2. Sioux County: 1.5%
#4. Plymouth County: 1.6%
#4. Taylor County: 1.6%