The number of workers in Iowa’s labor force continued to drop in May, as the state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged from April at 2.8%, according to data released today by Iowa Workforce Development.

Iowa’s labor force participation rate has fallen each month since December. The rate was 66.7% in May, down from 66.8% the previous month. The total number of working Iowans fell to 1,644,700 in May. That’s 2,200 lower than in April and 20,600 lower than one year ago, the report says.

There were 46,900 unemployed Iowans in May, down from 47,200 in April. The number of job openings in the state was 56,993 at the time the report was released, according to the state agency.

“After strong job growth earlier this year, Iowa saw moderate decreases in hiring across many industries, except health care,” Iowa Workforce Development Executive Director Beth Townsend said in a news release.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor released its report earlier this month on the national unemployment rate, which increased to 4.0% in May, while the U.S. added 272,000 nonfarm jobs – better than economists had predicted.

Iowa Workforce Development’s report says there was little movement in the state’s payrolls compared with April.

“This modest loss is the second consecutive and was fueled by private sector losses in professional and business services, other services, and trade,” the report says. “The losses were partially offset by hiring in local government, which advanced by 700 jobs at the local level as municipal entities ramped up for summer activities. Compared to last May, total nonfarm employment is now up 23,800 jobs.”

Professional and business services shed the most jobs in May (900), according to the agency. Most of the decline in May came from administrative support and waste management industries and was identical to the decline in April (1,100).

Wholesale and retail trade also lost ground, which led to a decline of 500 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities – the first monthly loss since January.