DES MOINES -- Statewide unemployment rose a fraction of a percent from May to June, but recent storms and flooding may drive that number higher in the coming months, according to Iowa Workforce Development.

The Iowa unemployment rate was 4 percent in June this month, up from 3.9 percent in May, according to the latest employment report released last week.

But those numbers don't reflect the full impact of the flooding that ravaged Iowa throughout June, said Kerry Koonce, communications director for Iowa Workforce Development.

The survey upon which the new statistics are based was conducted before the floods reached their most devastating, Koonce said.

The state experienced an unemployment hike after the 1993 floods, but the trend abated within five months, she said.

She expects a similar unemployment forecast this year, she said.

"It's shaping up that a lot of employers are getting back to work quickly," she said.

The total number of working Iowans dropped from 1,614,300 in May to 1,605,400 in June, according to the report, but Iowa's 4 percent unemployment remains below the national average of about 5.5 percent.

Iowans left jobless because of floods can apply for federal emergency assistance through Iowa Workforce Development, Koonce said.

The income- and dependent-based program can provide up to $389 a month for someone with two dependents and up to $443 a month for someone with four or more dependents.

Citizens can apply at any Iowa Workforce Development office or by filling out an online form at iowaworkforce.org.

Iowa's economy draws its strength from a range of businesses, such as agriculture, manufacturing and financial services, but it doesn't depend heavily on any single economic sector.

So when a section of the national economy goes south, like housing, Iowa can weather the storm without a severe jump in unemployment, Koonce said.

Jim Chizek, MidWestOne Bank's Cedar Valley market president, said a handful of banks in Iowa took damage similar to his institution, but he said Iowa's banking industry escaped long-term harm.

He estimated 10 percent of bank documents at MidWestOne in Waterloo sustained water damage, but the documents can be recovered through a freeze-drying process.

"It's probably more of an inconvenience factor in the short run," he said. "I don't foresee or know of any institutions where flooding caused discontinuance of their business altogether."

Flooding already has forced at least one business in Waterloo to cut back on its workforce.

MidWestOne Bank has cut its downtown Waterloo staff because flood damage left four employees with nowhere to work.

State officials are predicting other Iowa employers may cut jobs due to flooding, but the unemployment spike probably won't last long.

The Waterloo MidWestOne Bank eliminated four teller positions out of a staff of eight with no immediate plans of hiring replacements, said Chizek.

"We physically didn't have a facility or enough facilities to put them in anymore," Chizek said.

Contact Fred Love

at (515) 243-0138 or

fred.love@lee.net.