Civilian labor force in Des Moines, IA

Civilian labor force in Des Moines, IA was 119,163 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 1.8% from 2024. That is the 1st highest of 23 cities in 2025.

2025, persons119,163

Change on 2024+1.8%

Rank1st of 23Cities in Iowa ranked

Series high123,1471996

Series low104,8082005

Next release: Wednesday, 28 October 2026, 10:00 ET, announced by BLS. Release calendar

Civilian labor force in Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025

persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-09-30.

All 36 values

Period	persons
2025	119,163
2024	117,023
2023	116,684
2022	115,677
2021	115,335
2020	116,119
2019	121,301
2018	120,400
2017	120,152
2016	120,650
2015	109,843
2014	111,222
2013	110,216
2012	109,118
2011	109,671
2010	110,727
2009	108,571
2008	106,525
2007	106,258
2006	105,124
2005	104,808
2004	114,310
2003	113,276
2002	114,298
2001	110,519
2000	108,620
1999	122,119
1998	122,667
1997	121,905
1996	123,147
1995	121,472
1994	119,250
1993	118,229
1992	114,541
1991	111,097
1990	108,711

Rankings

US cities by civilian labor force 1706 places
Cities in Iowa by civilian labor force 23 places

Definition

Employed plus unemployed residents, annual average. People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. Counts people where they live, not jobs: for wage and salary jobs by state use oews_employment. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average (Civilian labor force, Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Civilian labor force, Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/des-moines-ia. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Civilian labor force, Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/des-moines-ia.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, Civilian labor force, Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/des-moines-ia (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_civilian_labor_force_des_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Civilian labor force, Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/des-moines-ia. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: Civilian labor force, Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/des-moines-ia
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/civilian-labor-force/des-moines-ia.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the civilian labor force in Des Moines, IA?

Civilian labor force in Des Moines, IA was 119,163 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 1.8% from 2024. That is the 1st highest of 23 cities in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest civilian labor force in Des Moines, IA?

123,147 in 1996, the highest value since 1990 in this series.

Civilian labor force elsewhere in Iowa

Related statistics for Des Moines, IA

All statistics for Des Moines, IA | Des Moines, IA in figures