Dubuque County’s unemployment rate dropped slightly in November from the month before, but the county also lost workers after a few months’ gain to the labor force. The unemployment rate for Dubuque County was 2.8% in November, down from 3.0% in October and below the statewide average of 3.1%. The national unemployment rate was 3.7% last month. The total labor force decreased by 800 workers from October to November in Dubuque County. The labor force remains short of its pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers, with November’s 55,500 in the Dubuque County labor force some 2,000 less than in Nov. 2019.