081619 404
Iowa's unemployment rate climbed slightly in July to 2.5% but remains among the lowest in the nation.
Iowa Workforce Development announced Friday that the unemployment rate rose from 2.4% in June. The rate had been stuck at that level since July 2018.
Although the unemployment rate increased, the number of residents with jobs also rose by about 4,000 compared to June. The number of unemployed residents increased by about 1,400.
Iowa's unemployment rate was third-lowest in the nation, behind Vermont and North Dakota and tied with New Hampshire.
The national unemployment rate in July was 3.7%.
U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, will hold two town hall meetings in Northwest Iowa over the next week. The first event will be held at 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Storm Lake Middle School. Tuesday King will hold a Clay County town hall meeting in Spencer at noon. King has pledged to hold town hall meetings in each of the 39 counties of the 4th congressional district. The Spencer event will be King's 30th town hall meeting.
Susan Fritz formally became the first woman to lead the University of Nebraska system today. Fritz was chosen to serve as the interim president after Hank Bounds stepped down earlier this year. Fritz has said she will not compete for the permanent presidency.
NU is in the midst of a job search for its next permanent president. NU is a system of universities in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney, and Curtis. Since the system was created 51 years ago, eight men have led it. One of those, James Linder, was an interim president like Fritz.
