Iowa’s seasonally unemployment rate was 3.7% in March, up from 2.7% a year ago, according to Iowa Workforce Development.

The unemployment rate, however, reflects just a portion of the impact that the shutdown of Iowa businesses due to the novel coronavirus has had on Iowa’s workforce, Iowa Workforce Development’s director Beth Townsend said in a release. Unemployment data released in May will better reflect the percentage of Iowa’s workers affected by the shutdowns.

Before the the coronavirus outbreak, Iowa was experiencing unemployment rates of less than 3%.

More than 1.67 million Iowans were employed in March, according to the state agency.

“The more Iowans who remain employed throughout [the pandemic] should help reduce the economic impact and hopefully assist in a faster recovery period when the economy begins to reopen,” Townsend said in the release. 

The number of unemployed Iowans jumped to 63,500 in March from 49,300 in February, according to the agency. In March 2019, 46,800 Iowans were unemployed.  

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in March.