WATERLOO - The Cedar Valley unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in February, down from 4.0 percent a year earlier and down from 4.3 percent a month earlier, according to figures from Iowa Workforce Development.

Total employment in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan statistical area, which includes Black Hawk, Bremer and Grundy counties, stood at 90,400, up from 89,600 in February 2007.

The total number of people unemployed dropped to 3,700, down by 100 from February 2007.

Manufacturing employment remained steady in February, with gains in durable good manufacturing offset by declines in nondurable goods work.

Other significant gains included a pickup of 800 jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry, probably due to the opening of The Isle Casino & Hotel at Waterloo this past summer, and a gain of 1,300 service jobs.

The metro area ranked in the middle of the pack among the state's urban areas, which ranged from 2.9 percent in Iowa City to 4.2 percent in Scott and Pottawatamie counties, the Iowa portions of the Quad Cities and Council Bluffs-Omaha metro areas respectively.

February jobless rates for Northeast Iowa counties, with the January rates in parentheses, are: Benton, 4.5 (5.1); Black Hawk, 4.0 (4.3); Bremer, 3.8 (4.4); Buchanan, 4.8 (5.2); Butler, 5.3 (5.6); Chickasaw, 4.9 (5.5); Fayette, 5.6 (6.2); Floyd, 5.6 (5.7); Franklin, 4.4 (4.6); Grundy, 3.7 (4.0); Hardin, 4.3 (4.6); Howard, 4.5 (4.5); Mitchell, 3.8 (4.0); Tama, 5.9 (5.9); and Winneshiek, 5.1 (6.1).

Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com.