DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in January as more residents joined the workforce. The state’s Workforce Development department reported Monday the rate was down from a revised 3.7% rate for December and compared to a 2.8% rate a year ago, before the coronavirus pandemic resulted in a severe economic slowdown. Workforce Development says the state added 8,200 workers in January.

There were 57,400 unemployed residents. Iowa was tied with Kansas for the nation’s sixth-lowest unemployment rate. South Dakota and Utah had the lowest rate, at 3.1%. The national unemployment rate for January was 6.3%.