Dallas County's Unemployment Rate Continues to Fall, As Does Iowa's

The Des Moines metro area was unchanged and Dallas County's unemployment rate fell in November, continuing a downward trend, according to the latest report from Iowa Workforce Development.

The county's unemployment rate was 3.5 in November, down from 3.7 percent in October, according to the report.

Meanwhile, unemployment remained unchanged in the Des Moines metro, the state said, at 4.6 percent in November, the same as the month before.

Both Dallas County and the state are in a better place then they were a year ago. In November 2011 the county's unemployment rate was 4 percent

“Iowa’s unemployment rate reached a milestone in November,” said Teresa Wahlert, director of Iowa Workforce Development, in a news release. “November marked the first time since December 2008 that the state’s jobless rate was lower than 5.0 percent.”

Across Iowa, the unemployment rate fell from October's 5.1 percent to 4.8 percent in December. Nationally, the rate fell from 7.9 to 7.7 percent.