Dubuque County closed 2020 with a higher unemployment rate than the previous year. However, Dubuque County and its neighbors in Iowa still boasted jobless rates far lower than the national average.

The unemployment rate was 3.5% in Dubuque County last month, according to data recently released by Iowa Workforce Development. That was slightly higher than the 3.1% jobless rate in December 2019 and slightly lower than the 3.6% rate in November 2020.

Even so, Dubuque County’s rate was significantly lower than the 6.7% national unemployment rate in December.

The year-end rate also was a stark contrast to early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when Dubuque County had consecutive months with unemployment rates topping 12%.

Jackson and Delaware counties had December 2020 unemployment rates of 3.8% and 2.6%, respectively. Both were slightly higher than their December 2019 rates.

Jones County’s unemployment rate of 3.3% last month and Clayton County’s jobless rate of 4.2% actually marked slight improvements compared to the same month during the prior year.

Iowa’s statewide unemployment rate was 3.1% in December, the second-lowest rate in the country. The state’s rate was 2.8% in December 2019.