Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased slightly to 2.7% in December. The state’s jobless rate was 2.4% one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 3.5% in December. “Given the holidays and weather in December, it was not surprising to see a slight increase in the unemployment rate. Still, Iowa’s workforce grew by 4,400 jobs in December and has grown by 64,900 since the previous December,” said Beth Townsend, director of Iowa Workforce Development. “We continue to have more jobs than people to fill them, and programs like Future Ready Iowa will help Iowans get the training they need for high-demand occupations and employers to find the talent pipeline they continue to need.” The number of unemployed Iowans increased to 47,200 in December from 46,200 in November. The current estimate is 6,800 higher than the year-ago level of 40,400. The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,716,100 in December. That was 4,400 higher than in November and 64,900 higher than one year ago.