(Cass Co.) Unemployment rates have dropped across an eight-county area of southwest Iowa compared to this time last year.
The average unemployment rate for Shelby, Audubon, Guthrie, Pottawattamie, Cass, Adair, Montgomery and Adams counties was 2.54% in June, down from an average of 2.99% in June 2025.
All eight counties saw lower unemployment rates compared to last June. Pottawattamie County had the highest rate in the region at 3.5%, down from 4% last year. Adair County had the lowest rate at 1.9%, compared to 2.4% last June.
Guthrie County saw the largest decrease, falling from 3.4% to 2.7%. Shelby County dropped from 2.7 to 2.4%, while Audubon County fell from 2.7 to 2.1%.
Cass County decreased from 3.1 to 2.7%, Montgomery County from 2.8 to 2.6% and Adams County from 2.8 to 2.4%.
The declines follow a similar trend statewide. Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.2% in June, down from 3.4% one year ago. Iowa Workforce Development reported 55,200 unemployed Iowans during June.
