Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 3.3% in November, up from 3.1% a year ago. This marked the fourth straight month the rate has increased. The state’s labor force participation rate dipped to 68.1% in November, down from 68.4% in October and from 68.2% a year ago. The number of unemployed Iowans was 57,200 in November, up from 56,000 in October. “Despite some Iowans leaving their jobs in November, we saw employers add over 4,500 jobs, and we have gained over 10,000 jobs in the past year,” Beth Townsend, executive director of Iowa Workforce Development, said in a prepared statement. “A bright spot in today’s report includes an increase of over 1,000 jobs in health care, an industry that has struggled to find workers. That industry is up 8,500 jobs in 2023, which will help ease some of the gaps in the industry created by the pandemic. Additionally, there are over 62,000 jobs posted on IowaWORKS, a number which continues to exceed the total number of unemployed in Iowa.”  The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.7% in November, down from 3.9% in October. For more information about Iowa’s labor market, click here.