Data / Unemployed people / Des Moines, IA

Unemployed people in Des Moines, IA

Unemployed people in Des Moines, IA was 5,039 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 16.4% from 2024. That is the 1st highest of 23 cities in 2025.

2025, persons5,039
Change on 2024+16.4%
Rank1st of 23Cities in Iowa ranked
Series high8,1302020
Series low3,0701999

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

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Unemployed people in Des Moines, IA, 1990 to 2025

2,0004,0006,0008,00010K19901996200220082014202020251990: 4,571 persons1991: 5,018 persons1992: 5,097 persons1993: 5,340 persons1994: 4,258 persons1995: 4,047 persons1996: 4,302 persons1997: 3,971 persons1998: 3,437 persons1999: 3,070 persons2000: 3,603 persons2001: 4,533 persons2002: 5,925 persons2003: 6,536 persons2004: 7,133 persons2005: 4,740 persons2006: 3,990 persons2007: 4,116 persons2008: 5,036 persons2009: 8,035 persons2010: 7,790 persons2011: 7,246 persons2012: 6,614 persons2013: 6,321 persons2014: 5,625 persons2015: 4,798 persons2016: 4,552 persons2017: 4,162 persons2018: 3,537 persons2019: 3,832 persons2020: 8,130 persons2021: 5,640 persons2022: 3,780 persons2023: 3,879 persons2024: 4,329 persons2025: 5,039 persons2,0004,0006,0008,00010K19902002201420251990: 4,571 persons1991: 5,018 persons1992: 5,097 persons1993: 5,340 persons1994: 4,258 persons1995: 4,047 persons1996: 4,302 persons1997: 3,971 persons1998: 3,437 persons1999: 3,070 persons2000: 3,603 persons2001: 4,533 persons2002: 5,925 persons2003: 6,536 persons2004: 7,133 persons2005: 4,740 persons2006: 3,990 persons2007: 4,116 persons2008: 5,036 persons2009: 8,035 persons2010: 7,790 persons2011: 7,246 persons2012: 6,614 persons2013: 6,321 persons2014: 5,625 persons2015: 4,798 persons2016: 4,552 persons2017: 4,162 persons2018: 3,537 persons2019: 3,832 persons2020: 8,130 persons2021: 5,640 persons2022: 3,780 persons2023: 3,879 persons2024: 4,329 persons2025: 5,039 persons
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-09-30.
All 36 values
Periodpersons
20255,039
20244,329
20233,879
20223,780
20215,640
20208,130
20193,832
20183,537
20174,162
20164,552
20154,798
20145,625
20136,321
20126,614
20117,246
20107,790
20098,035
20085,036
20074,116
20063,990
20054,740
20047,133
20036,536
20025,925
20014,533
20003,603
19993,070
19983,437
19973,971
19964,302
19954,047
19944,258
19935,340
19925,097
19915,018
19904,571

Rankings

Definition

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • 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. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. 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.

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How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), 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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Unemployed people, 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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Unemployed people, 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/unemployed-people/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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Unemployed people, 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/unemployed-people/des-moines-ia.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Unemployed people, 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/unemployed-people/des-moines-ia (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_unemployed_people_des_moines_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Unemployed people, 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/unemployed-people/des-moines-ia. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), 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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Unemployed people, 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/unemployed-people/des-moines-ia
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/des-moines-ia.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), 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 unemployed people in Des Moines, IA?

Unemployed people in Des Moines, IA was 5,039 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 16.4% 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: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest unemployed people in Des Moines, IA?

8,130 in 2020, the highest value since 1990 in this series.

Unemployed people elsewhere in Iowa

Related statistics for Des Moines, IA

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