Iowa Unemployment Numbers Drop Again To Best In The Nation

A recent survey was released stating that Iowa has the worst economy in America.  The latest batch of unemployment numbers would disagree with that.

Unlike neighboring Illinois and Wisconsin, Iowa not only saw a decrease in unemployment this week but also witnessed a significant improvement compared to this time last year.

7.2 Million Americans Are Unemployed

The job market overall continues to struggle with new unemployment claims increasing by 3.3% week-over-week on May 26. There are currently 7.2 million Americans unemployed in total.

States leading the way, in a bad way, are Kentucky, North Dakota, Tennessee, Minnesota, Kansas, Ohio, Wyoming, Mississippi, New Mexico, Idaho, Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Arkansas, Missouri, and Indiana, which all saw increases this week.

Blue States Are Increasing The Most

It's not much, but once again, there are more unemployment claims in Blue States compared to Red States.

WalletHub shows the average rank of Blue States at 23.15 and Red States at 27.84.

Iowa definitely helps out the Red States, as it comes in ranked 51st in the nation!

Iowa Unemployment Numbers Best In The Country

Iowa not only had a good week for unemployment claims, but it's way better than this time last year, and even 2025 is looking good.

For Iowa, the change in unemployment claims the week of May 26th vs the previous week is down 38.77%

The change in unemployment claims the week of May 26 vs the same week in 2024 is down 40.90%.

All in 2025 is better than 2024.  Jobless claims in 2025 are down 1.79% compared to this time last year.

You can see the full ranking here.