Iowa’s unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level in nearly 17 years.
Iowa Workforce Development reported Friday the unemployment rate for October fell to 3 percent, down from the September rate of 3.2 percent.
The unemployment rate is the lowest since January 2001.
The rate drop reflected a decline in the number of unemployed Iowans to about 51,000 in October.
The number of working residents rose to 1.635 million.
The national employment rate in October was 4.1 percent.