Iowa's unemployment rate in March dropped another notch, falling to 2.8% from 2.9% in February, Iowa Workforce Development reported Thursday.

It continued a reversal of a trend toward slightly higher unemployment from May to November last year. The unemployment rate began falling in December but still is well above the post-pandemic recession low of 2.3% last April.

Just as the rise in unemployment paralleled higher inflation rates, the fall has tracked their decline, from 6.5% in December to 5% in March.

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Throughout, the Iowa unemployment rate has remained below that of the nation as a whole. The U.S. rate was 3.5% for March.

Iowa's labor force participation rate, a measure of the proportion of adults who have jobs or are actively seeking employment ― also showed a slight improvement in March, ticking up to 68.2% from 68.1% in both February and March 2022. A lagging statistic for much of the period since the end of the pandemic shutdowns and recession, it's now ahead of the 68.1% recorded in March 2019, a year before COVID-19 reached Iowa. The 10-year peak of 68.4% was recorded from July through September 2019.

Iowa Workforce Development, in a news release, noted that the total number of working Iowans was 1,675,500 min March, 4,400 more than in February and 2,000 more than in March 2022.

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“March’s strong numbers across the board again demonstrate that Iowa’s economy continues to trend in the right direction,” Beth Townsend, Director of Iowa Workforce Development, said in the release.

The sectors with the biggest month-over-month job gains in March were:

• Health care and social assistance, adding 1,000 workers.

• Manufacturing, up 700 jobs, with makers of durable goods like appliances and farm equipment leading the way.

• Financial activities, with 600 jobs.

• Professional and business services, with 400 jobs.

Trade, transportation and utilities shed 1,100 jobs in March amid a slowing in the warehousing sector, Iowa Workforce Development said. Mining and construction each lost 100 jobs.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa March unemployment rate falls to 2.8%