DES MOINES, IOWA (October 2, 2023) — Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) announced the hiring of James Williams EdD as the new Division Administrator for Vocational Rehabilitation Services, effective today. Williams will oversee the state’s vocational-rehabilitation program, which moved to IWD as part of the state’s alignment effort. The move is designed to make it easier for Iowans to access all available workforce services in a single location and working with a single team.

DES MOINES, IOWA (September 15, 2023) — Iowa’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate rose from 2.7 percent to 2.9 percent in August, tying the year-ago rate, while the US unemployment rate increased from 3.5 percent to 3.8 percent in August.

DES MOINES, IOWA (August 29, 2023) — Governor Kim Reynolds announced on August 28 that the schedule of unemployment insurance rates used to tax Iowa employers will remain at the lowest possible level allowed by law. This marks the second consecutive year at the current rates, and only the second time Iowa’s rates have been at this level during the past 25 years.

DES MOINES, IOWA (August 17, 2023) — Iowa’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 2.7 percent in July but remains down from 2.8 percent one year ago. The state’s labor force added 2,700 new workers in July, increasing Iowa’s labor-force participation rate to 68.8 percent. That is up from 68.2 percent a year ago and equals the participation rate in March 2020.

Meanwhile, the US unemployment rate decreased to 3.5 percent in July from 3.6 percent the month before.