Total nonfarm employment in the Quad Cities metro area decreased by approximately 2,500 jobs (1.3%) from September 2023 to September 2024 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The third quarter ended with approximately 181,400 nonfarm payroll jobs.

At the end of the quarter, the unemployment rate in the four-county metro area was 5.4%, up from 5.0% in June. In the six-county Quad Cities Chamber service area, the unemployment rate was 5.1%, up from 4.8% in June. In the six-county area, unemployment rates ranged from 3.2% in Muscatine County to 6.8% in Rock Island County.

In the second quarter, we noted that a number of layoff announcements had been made, but would not show up in the data until the third quarter. The decline in employment seen in the third quarter was in line with expectations given previously announced layoffs. We may see a couple more quarters of employment decline as spending reductions work through the economy. The path of interest rates and overall U.S. economic performance could influence that up or down going into the new year.