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Iowa jobs and job market: layoffs, colleges and workforce help

Iowa’s unemployment rate is 3.2%. 1,536 open professional jobs are listed here. Employers filed 87 layoff notices in the last 12 months. Choose a county or city for the same picture closer to home.

Iowa economy

  • 3.2%

    unemployment, Aug 2026

    3.5% the month before

  • 1,724,263

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 3,195,937

    people in Iowa

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $73,147

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 39%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Iowa layoffs

  • 87

    WARN layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 3,331

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 30

    employers

WARN notices filed in Iowa, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
Milestone TechnologiesLinn County20Mass LayoffState record
Wells FargoPolk County2Amendment - Additional EmployeesState record
Cambridge Investment ResearchJefferson County33Mass LayoffState record
Winnebago IndustriesWinnebago County51Mass LayoffState record
Carry On Trailer IncHarrision County79ClosingState record
Wells FargoPolk County10Amendment - Additional EmployeesState record
RTXLinn County1Amendment - Additional EmployeesState record
Wells FargoPolk County35Amendment - Additional EmployeesState record
Wells FargoPolk County5Amendment - Additional EmployeesState record
Independence Premium FoodsBuchanan County5Amendment - Additional EmployeesState record

All layoff notices in the state

Get an email when a new notice is filed for Iowa

One email a day at most, only when there is something new. No account needed.

Employers hiring most in Iowa

Employers with the most open professional roles on our job board right now.

  1. GPAC91 open roles
  2. RTX89 open roles
  3. Transamerica55 open roles
  4. BAE Systems49 open roles
  5. Principal Financial Group30 open roles
  6. Deere John Capital19 open roles
  7. Emerson19 open roles
  8. Olsson19 open roles
  9. OpenLoop19 open roles
  10. Raytheon18 open roles
  11. Cambrex17 open roles
  12. Athene Holding16 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in Iowa

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Higher education in Iowa

  • 35

    public and private nonprofit colleges

    Source: IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education

  • about 239,500

    students enrolled

    Estimated from size bands

Largest colleges in Iowa

Largest colleges in Iowa
CollegeCityTypeStudents
Iowa State UniversityAmesPublic 4-year20,000+
University of IowaIowa CityPublic 4-year20,000+
University of Northern IowaCedar FallsPublic 4-year5,000–9,999
Buena Vista UniversityStorm LakePrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Central CollegePellaPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Coe CollegeCedar RapidsPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Cornell CollegeMount VernonPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Des Moines University-Osteopathic Medical CenterWest Des MoinesPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Dordt UniversitySioux CenterPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Drake UniversityDes MoinesPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Graceland University-LamoniLamoniPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Grand View UniversityDes MoinesPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999

All 35 Iowa colleges

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Iowa. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

  • Central Iowa LWDA

    Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Polk, Story, Warren

  • East Central Iowa LWDA

    Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Washington

  • Eastern Iowa Workforce Development Board

    Clinton, Des Moines, Henry, Jackson, Lee, Louisa, Muscatine, Scott

  • Iowa Plains Local Workforce Development Area

    Adair, Adams, Audubon, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cherokee, Clarke, Clay, Crawford, Decatur, Dickinson, Emmet, Fremont, Greene, Guthrie, Hamilton, Harrison, Humboldt, Ida, Kossuth, Lyon, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, O'Brien, Osceola, Page, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Sac, Shelby, Sioux, Taylor, Union, Webster, Woodbury, Wright

  • Northeast Iowa LWDA

    Allamakee, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Grundy, Hancock, Howard, Mitchell, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Worth

  • South Central Iowa LWDA

    Appanoose, Davis, Hardin, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lucas, Mahaska, Marshall, Monroe, Poweshiek, Tama, Van Buren, Wapello, Wayne

18 American Job Centers in Iowa

Job fairs and business events in Iowa

Hiring events, career workshops, small-business counseling and startup events from chambers, job centers, workforce boards, colleges and economic-development groups in Iowa.

Conferences in Iowa

Industry conferences and trade shows held in Iowa, the ones worth a trip for hiring managers and job seekers. 10 with dates announced.

All conferences

Iowa counties

Each county page has its own unemployment, layoffs, job openings, employers, colleges and job centers.

Iowa cities

Cities with open jobs, layoff notices, a job center or a college.

Laid off or looking for work in Iowa?

See what to do first, what Iowa unemployment benefits pay, and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS for population, income and unemployment; WARN notices from Iowa’s published record; job counts from our live job board, taken from employers’ own career sites; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Iowa unemployment benefits.