Area smashes state jobs report - Community Newspaper Group

Most area counties far outpaced the Iowa average in the latest jobs’ report. With the state average remaining at 3.2 percent, area counties did even better with Benton County clocking in at 2.9 percent, tying Buchanan County with both outperforming the state average. Linn County was a bit above the average, coming in at 3.5 percent while Tama was at 3.9 percent. The latest numbers are improved from the month before with Benton County’s unemployment rate dropping by half of a percent, down from 3.4 percent. Buchanan County dropped from 3.2 percent down to 2.9 as Iowa County improved from 3.3 percent down to 2.9 percent. Tama County dropped by .5 percent from 4.4 percent to 3.9 while Linn County dropped by .6 percent from 4.1 to 3.5 percent.