Iowa’s unemployment rate inched down to 5.1 percent in October from 5.2 percent in September, according to new Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) figures.

There are still 83,800 unemployed Iowans, but that number is down from the 85,500 in September. The estimate was reported at 96,000 one year ago.

About 6,000 nonfarm jobs were added in October, making this month’s increase the largest since February, according to IWD. The leisure and hospitality industry added 2,600 jobs this month, leading other sectors. The majority of positions were due to increased demand at restaurants.

Education and health services also posted a solid gain this month, with the increase of 1,800 evenly divided between education and health. Manufacturing added 1,500 jobs in October after three consecutive months of losses. Smaller gains were reported for construction and information, about 500 and 400 positions, respectively.

Trade and transportation lost about 800 jobs, due mostly to a decrease in wholesale trade related to machinery and equipment sales. The only other decrease this month was a small drop in financial activities of about 300 jobs. 

The unemployment rate one year ago stood at 5.8 percent. The national unemployment rate for October was 7.9 percent.