National employment numbers for August are continuing to recover, while the state dipped just a bit. Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 4.9 percent in August, as more Iowans continued to enter the labor force. The August rate was up from 4.8 percent in July, but down from the year ago rate of 5.3 percent. Unemployment was 4.6% in Marion County during July, and has averaged 4.8% for 2013 after peaking at 5.7% in February. The U.S. unemployment rate for August decreased to 7.3 percent from 7.4 percent in July. Teresa Wahlert, Director of Iowa Workforce Development, says that state’s labor force reached its highest level for the year in August at over 1.6 million workers.