OTTUMWA — Unemployment numbers in Ottumwa top major cities within the state, according to numbers released by Iowa Workforce Development.

Among the cities in Iowa with populations of 25,000 people or more, Ottumwa had the highest unemployment rate during the month of September.

This could be due to the large number of manufacturing jobs in the area, along with people commuting to other counties for work, said Kerry Koonce, spokeswoman for Iowa Workforce Development.

It’s not all bad news, though. Iowa Workforce Development released numbers this week showing Ottumwa’s unemployment dropped from 9.7 percent in August to 9.5 percent for September.

Ottumwa Mayor Dale Uehling said he wasn’t surprised that Ottumwa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, but he is optimistic.

“I would fully expect that it will take six months to a year before we really see a dramatic turnaround,” he said.

Uehling said projects like the construction of Job Corps and road improvements help bring jobs to the community.

“A lot of the unemployed people here work outside of Ottumwa. This whole area is being effected,” he said.

The Ottumwa area was impacted more because of frequent layoffs, shut downs, Uehling said. In addition, a lot of residents go to other communities for work.

“What we really need long-term is to be able to get manufacturers back employed,” Uehling said, noting John Deere Ottumwa Works and Al-jon as examples.

Roger Jones, executive director of the Ottumwa Economic Development Corporation, said he has been in contact with local manufacturing employers and they are optimistic.

“There’s every reason to think that next month things are going to be even better,” Jones said. “Any lowering in your unemployment is good news.”

Jones attributed Ottumwa’s high unemployment rate to the large manufacturing base in the area, which have faced layoffs. Fortunately, Jones noted, a majority of the manufacturing layoffs are temporary.

Davis County has the second highest unemployment rate out of Iowa’s 99 counties, at 10.1 percent. Appanoose and Wapello counties rank third at 9.4 percent.

“It’s just taking a significant amount of time before people are finding a job,” Koonce said.