Corridor Sees Job Decline in July

By Dave DeWitte, Reporter

Employment Kiosks set up in the North Liberty Library are among the first virtual unemployment offices to be set up to help communities go back to work, Tuesday, August 30, 2011. (Kenny Knutson/SourceMedia Group News)

Tools

By Kara Kelly

Story Created: Aug 21, 2012 at 12:57 PM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 21, 2012 at 12:57 PM CDT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Summer reductions in education employment placed downward pressure on nonfarm employment in the Corridor last month, although unemployment rates held steady.

Iowa Workforce Development reported Tuesday that the unemployment rate held steady at 5.3 percent in July in the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area and increased to 4.2 percent in the Iowa City MSA from June's 4.1 percent.

Nonfarm employment in the Cedar Rapids MSA slipped by 1,200, and remained 2,000 below July 2011. The biggest downward pressure in July came from local government, which lost 900 jobs due mainly to summer cutbacks in education employment.

The closely watched manufacturing sector gained 200 jobs from June, but remains 900 below July 2011 levels.

Nonfarm employment in the Iowa City MSA declined by 2,200 from June, and stood 500 above year-ago levels. The biggest downward pressure on employment also came from summer education cutbacks, with a 2,300 reduction in state government jobs and a 1,000 reduction in local government jobs from June levels.

Nonfarm employment in the Dubuque MSA added 900 jobs from June levels, while nonfarm employment in the Waterloo MSA added 200 from June.

Iowa's statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, already reported last week, rose to 5.3 percent in July from June's 5.1 percent level.

Next Article Neighbors Spend the Day in the Dark as Crews Work to Restore Power

Conversation Guidelines

Be Kind

Don't use abusive, offensive, threatening, racist, vulgar or sexually-oriented language.
Don't attack someone personally. Keep it civil and be responsible.

Share Knowledge

Be truthful. Share what you know and what you are passionate about.
What more do you want to learn? Keep it simple.

Stay focused

Promote lively and healthy debate. Stay on topic. Ask questions and give feedback on the story's topic.

Report Trouble

Help us maintain a quality comment section by reporting comments that are offensive. If you see a comment that is offensive, or you feel violates our guidelines, simply click on the "x" to the far right of the comment to report it.

read the full guidelines here »

Commenting will be disabled on stories dealing with the following subject matter: Crime, sexual abuse, property fires, automobile accidents, Amber Alerts, Operation Quickfinds and suicides.