New data: January unemployment rate higher than prior year in 9 of 10 local counties

Recently released data shows that nine of 10 local counties kicked off 2021 with higher unemployment rates than they had at the same time one year ago.

Unemployment in Dubuque county was 5% in January, up from 4% in the same month the prior year. All of the surrounding counties saw an uptick of their own: In Jackson County, the jobless rate rose from 4.9% in January 2020 to 6.2% in January of 2021; in Delaware County, it rose from 3.3% to 3.9%; in Jones, from 5.0% to 5.5%; and in Clayton, from 6.6% to 7.2%.

Numbers from Iowa Workforce Development show there were 56,900 workers employed in Dubuque County in January, down 3,600 compared to the same month one year earlier.

The unemployment rate statewide was 3.5% in January, well below the national jobless rate of 6.3% for that month.

In Wisconsin, Crawford County’s unemployment rate in January of this year was 5.9%, compared to 5.7% in January 2020. In Grant County, it was 3.6% this January, compared to 3.8% one year earlier. Iowa County was at 4.4% this January, compared to 3.6% 12 months earlier, while Lafayette County was at 3.3% in January 2021, compared to 3.1% in January 2020.

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 3.8% in January 2021, up from 3.3% in the same month last year.

In Jo Daviess County, Ill., the rate was 6.8% in January of this year, compared to 5.2% in January 2020.

The jobless rate in Illinois increased to 7.3% in January 2021, up significantly from the rate of 3.5% one year prior.