SIOUX CITY — Unemployment in metro Sioux City ticked down to 4.1% in February as employers added 100 non-farm jobs, according to state data released Tuesday.
The jobless rate in Sioux City MSA — defined as Woodbury and Plymouth counties in Iowa, Dakota and Dixon counties in Nebraska, and Union County in South Dakota — fell slightly from 4.3% in January, according to Iowa Workforce.
The state and national rates are seasonally adjusted while local rates are not.
Of the state’s largest cities, only Ames (3%); Iowa City (3.8%) had lower rates than Sioux City’s. Rates for other large metros included: Cedar Rapids (5.2%); Dubuque (5.1%); Des Moines (4.6%) and Waterloo (4.5%).
A total of 82,600 people were employed in non-farm occupations in metro Sioux City in February, up 100 from the previous month, according to Iowa Workforce. The largest gains came in government (300); leisure and hospitality (200) and professional and business services and manufacturing (100 each.
The biggest losses were in trade, transportation and warehousing, which pared 800 jobs. Retail accounted for 100 of the losses in that sector.
Overall, metro area employment remains down 800 non-farm jobs from a year ago and the the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020, the metro unemployment rate stood at a historically low 3.2%.
