Black Hawk County, IA jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Black Hawk County’s unemployment rate is 3.6%. Employers filed 4 layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 54 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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Black Hawk County economy

3.6%
unemployment, Sep 2026
3.8% the month before
66,263
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
130,693
people in Black Hawk County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$64,581
median household income
Source: Census ACS
37%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Black Hawk County outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

Private-sector jobs down 1.5% from 2022 to 2025
Population up 0.4% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 3.6%, down 0.2 points from a year ago
Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+1,125 jobs)
Sectors losing the most jobs: manufacturing (−1,527 jobs), transportation & warehousing (−617 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in Black Hawk County. Each link goes to the publisher.

Mason City road closure starts Monday on Frank Lloyd Wright WayKIMT News 3 · Oct 25, 2026

Learn and get funded in Black Hawk County

Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.

Black Hawk County layoffs

4
Layoff notices, last 12 months
393
workers named
A floor: states may leave out counts
4
employers

Layoff notices filed in Black Hawk County, newest first
Notice date	Employer	City or county	Workers	Type	Source
Nov 3, 2026	Cedar Valley Medical Specialist	Black Hawk County	31	Closing	State record
Apr 8, 2026	Ryder Systems Inc.	Black Hawk County	153	Amendment - Additional Employees	State record
Apr 2, 2026	First Student	Black Hawk County	120	Closing	State record
Feb 6, 2026	Cedar Valley Corp, LLC	Black Hawk County	89	Closing	State record

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Black Hawk County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

Deere5 open roles
Conagra Brands4 open roles
Tyson Foods4 open roles
Fleet Farm3 open roles
Top Echelon Network (recruiter member boards)3 open roles
Food Management Search2 open roles
Mediacom Communications2 open roles
Regions Financial2 open roles
SteveRecruiter2 open roles
The Judge Group2 open roles

Colleges in Black Hawk County

Colleges in Black Hawk County
College	City	Type	Students
University of Northern Iowa	Cedar Falls	Public 4-year	5,000–9,999
Allen College	Waterloo	Private non-profit 4-year	Under 1,000

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Black Hawk County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Iowa? How to file for unemployment in Iowa (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

Northeast Iowa LWDA
Allamakee, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clayton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Grundy, Hancock, Howard, Mitchell, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Worth

Waterloo IowaWORKS
Waterloo · Comprehensive · 319-235-2123
Mon-Tue-Thu-Fri 8:30 - 4:30pm, Wed 9:00-4:30pm

Cities in Black Hawk County

Other Iowa counties

All of Iowa

Laid off or looking for work in Black Hawk County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Iowa’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Iowa unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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