Iowa’s workforce participation rate rose in November and Iowa employers added jobs for the first time since June, according to data from Iowa Workforce Development.

Iowa saw 1,600 workers return to the workforce to look for a job, raising the workforce participation rate slightly from October to 66.3%.

“This is a welcome sign for Iowa in terms of our economic stability and growth, as well as for employers who currently are trying to fill over 50,000 open jobs. Now that we are past the election, we hope to see more hiring, more Iowans returning to the workforce, and increased growth overall,” Beth Townsend, executive director of Iowa Workforce Development, said in a prepared statement.

Despite the new batch of job seekers, the number of unemployed Iowans increased to 53,000 in November from 51,000 in October. Iowa’s unemployment rate was 3.1% in November, up slightly from October.

In November, the total number of working Iowans fell to 1,632,600, which is 400 lower than October and 20,900 lower than one year ago.

Iowa employers added a net 400 jobs in November, the first gain since June, raising total nonfarm employment to 1,599,300 jobs. Private industry shed 1,100 jobs in November while the government sector added 1,500 jobs. The majority of the jobs added in government (1,200) were from hiring in public schools, the data shows.

Leisure and hospitality led all private sector in job gains (700) and professional and business services led all private sectors in losses in November (1,200 jobs). Administrative support and waste management industries and trade and transportation also lost jobs in November.

The U.S. unemployment rate increased to 4.2% from 4.1% in October.

To view the full report, click here.