January 2026

Released April 08, 2026

Download the full PDF for Iowa

Download the summary PDF for Iowa

United States

Employment snapshot

• In January, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 9, rose in 22, and remained unchanged in 20.

• The highest unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2.2 percent in Hawaii and South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.3 percent.

• In January, payroll jobs rose in 45 states and fell in 6. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.5 percent in California and North Dakota. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.7 percent in District of Columbia.

Iowa

Employment snapshot

• In January, Iowa added 6,400 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.4 percent. In the prior month, Iowa lost 3,600 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, Iowa lost 15,300 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point from 3.5 percent.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, or 0.1 percent. Iowa ranks 49th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In January, Iowa’s private sector added 5,000 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it lost 13,500 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, Iowa lost 4,000 net private payroll jobs.

• In January, employment in Iowa rose by 767, and over the past 12 months it rose by 16,920.

• Iowa’s labor force participation rate remained steady at 67.9 percent in January and is tied for 6th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has risen by 0.3 percentage points.

---

Iowa

Payroll employment

• Iowa added 6,400 net payroll jobs, or 0.4 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during January. In the prior month, Iowa lost 3,600 jobs. Iowa nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 5 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, or 0.1 percent. Iowa ranks 49th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• Iowa added 5,000 private sector jobs, or 0.4 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during January. In the prior month, Iowa lost 4,000 jobs. Iowa private sector payroll employment has increased in 3 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 186,000 jobs in March, or 0.1 percent. Iowa is tied for 48th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.

From December 2025 to January 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Professional and Business Services (+1,800) and State and Local Government (+1,300).
• The worst performing sectors were Other Services (-500) and Leisure and Hospitality (-200).

From January 2025 to January 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+4,800) and Construction (+800).
• The worst performing sectors were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-6,900) and Leisure and Hospitality (-6,100).

Iowa

Labor force

The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.

• The labor force participation rate in Iowa remained unchanged at 67.9 percent in January.

• Iowa is tied for 6th in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in Iowa was 70.2 percent occurring in August 2019, and the 10-year low was 65.3 percent in August 2020.

• The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 61.9 percent in March.