tamatoledonews.com DES MOINES (SPECIAL) – Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June remained at 6.8 percent, and compared with 6.0 percent for the same month one year ago. By comparison, the U.S. jobless rate for June dropped to 9.5 percent from 9.7 percent in May. Hiring in June at both the statewide and national levels was affected by the government’s cutting of temporary census workers and weak consumer spending.

“The June nonfarm employment figure is higher than one year ago, indicating that some progress has been made toward a recovery,” said Elisabeth Buck, director of Iowa Workforce Development. “Iowa is headed in the right direction, but hiring will need to gain strength to substantially lower the state’s unemployment rate.”

The state’s pool of unemployed workers decreased slightly to 113,600 in June from 114,800 in May. The number of unemployed was reported at 99,500 in June 2009.

The total number of working Iowans dropped to 1,567,100 in June from 1,571,600 in May. This was the lowest level reported for the year. One year ago, total employment stood at 1,572,400.

Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment

Iowa’s total nonfarm employment dropped to 1,475,700 in June from 1,479,300 in May. This month’s drop of 3,600 is the first decline in 2010, and only the second loss since September 2009. A large share of the monthly drop was caused by a reduction in temporary census employment. The June nonfarm employment figure marks the first time since October 2008 that payroll jobs have been positive year-over-year. Nonfarm employment was at 1,473,500 in June 2009.

Trade and transportation posted the largest loss in June, down 4,200 jobs. Within this sector, retail trade accounted for 2,400 of the loss. Elsewhere, construction continued to reflect weakness with a decline of 1,900. Other sectors reporting substantial drops were education and health and government, both down 1,800. On the other hand, a few sectors showed signs of recovery in June. Professional and business services, which is considered to be a leading indicator, added 2,400 jobs. Manufacturing added 2,000 jobs, all of which were contained in the hard-hit durable goods segment. Financial activities, which reflected a moderate decline in May, increased by 800 jobs in June.

Most of the state’s super sectors have displayed at least moderate improvement since June 2009. Trade and transportation is trailing the most from last June’s employment level, down 9,400 jobs. Construction is a distant second, down 2,700 jobs. Professional and business services has rebounded significantly since the start of the recession, and is leading all sectors in year-over-year improvement, up 8,300 jobs.