The Quad Cities labor market added approximately 1,000 jobs from December 2022 to December 2023 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The fourth quarter ended with total nonfarm employment at 185,300 jobs.

As of the end of the quarter, the unemployment rate stood at 3.9% in the Quad Cities MSA, down from 5.0% at the end of the third quarter. In the Chamber's six-county service area, the unemployment rate ranged from 2.7% in Muscatine County to 4.7% in Rock Island and Henry Counties.

After adding nearly 2,000 jobs in manufacturing in 2022, manufacturing employment in 2023 was essentially flat. Looking ahead to the rest of 2024, employment would be expected to pick up once the Federal Reserve begins interest rates as it is expected to do by the middle of the year.