DES MOINES - The recovery from recent weather-related disasters appears to be well under way in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area, and statewide as well, according to Iowa Workforce Development.

The unemployment rate in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan statistical area, which includes Black Hawk, Bremer and Grundy counties, was 3.7 percent in July, down from 4.2 percent in June, according to Workforce Development figures released Tuesday.

In July 2007, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls jobless rate was 3.4 percent.

Waterloo's jobless rate, which stood at 5 percent in June, in the immediate aftermath of the flooding, shrank to 4.4 percent in July. Cedar Falls, at 3.4 percent in June, was at 3.1 percent in July.

Black Hawk County's jobless rate decreased from 4.4 to 3.8 percent during the same period.

At least some of the gains can be attributed to recovery from the fallout of the recent flooding in the region, said Kerry Koonce, spokeswoman for Iowa Workforce Development.

"It's a lot weather-related and a lot cyclical," Koonce said. "We saw a lot of effects combined. In June, teachers aren't working, and government would show a decrease. You start to see, when the August and September numbers come up, that employment in those sectors go up."

State government experienced the greatest job loss with an over-the-month decrease of 600. Manufacturing, financial activities and health care and social assistance each dropped 100 jobs.

However, total nonfarm employment gained 1,500 over July 2007, which was a slight increase over the average over-year gain of 1,300.

Professional and business services gained 100 jobs from June to July, yet the industry remained essentially unchanged from a year earlier.

Manufacturing is the only industry with a job loss - 300 positions - when compared to July 2007, Koonce said.

But the areas hardest-hit by the floods showed some signs of coming back, she noted.

"Even in the Cedar Rapids metro area, unemployment is 4 percent, which is not what you might have thought would be extremely high as it might have been, with all the flooding they had," Koonce said. "Obviously, we're still continuing to see higher numbers in southwestern and southeastern Iowa."

Perhaps the most dramatic jump in unemployment was in Howard County, along the Minnesota border, which leaped from 3.9 percent to 7.2 percent from June to July.

Trailer manufacturer Featherlite Inc., the county's largest employer, had a temporary layoff of 500 workers in early July, said John Hall, company spokesman.

"We did have a temporary plant shutdown and gave people the option to use vacation or they could apply for unemployment," Hall said.

The closure was due to "a downturn in the economy" and lasted only one week, Hall said.

The shutdown idled all 500 of Featherlite's 500 factory workers but did not affect its 160 administrative and staff personnel, Hall said.

Neighboring Winnebago County, home of motor home manufacturer Winnebago Industries, based in Forest City, saw its jobless rate jump to 9.7 percent in July, from 5.3 percent a month earlier.

Winnebago has laid off hundreds of workers since the first of the year and closed one of its three Charles City plants Aug. 1.

"That obviously has an effect on the area, when that's one of their major employers," Koonce said. "Fortunately, they still have a high labor force in the Charles City area."

July unemployment rates for Northeast Iowa counties, with the June 2008 and July 2007 rates in parentheses, are: Benton, 3.6 (3.7, 3.0); Black Hawk, 3.8 (4.4, 3.6); Bremer, 3.5 (3.7, 2.8); Buchanan, 3.3 (3.7, 3.6); Butler, 4.5 (4.9, 3.7); Chickasaw, 5.8 (4.0, 3.5); Delaware, 3.3 (3.5, 3.1); Fayette, 4.8 (4.7, 3.9); Floyd, 5.7 (4.6, 3.7); Franklin, 3.9 (3.7, 2.9); Grundy, 3.0 (3.6, 3.1); Hardin, 3.7 (4.1, 3.5); Howard, 7.4 (3.9, 3.2); Mitchell, 4.1 (3.7, 3.2); Tama, 4.1 (4.5, 3.2); and Winneshiek, 4.0 (3.6, 3.1).

Contact Jim Offner at

(319) 291-1598 or

jim.offner@wcfcourier.com.