OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Encouraging news concerning the national unemployment rate was released on Friday.

The Department of Labor revealed the job statistics for the month of September, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.8%, down from 8.1% in July.

According to the Department of Labor, that is the lowest national rate since January of 2009.

Employers created 114,000 jobs in September, which is about equal to what analysts predicted.

The industries that showed the largest increase in job creation were healthcare, transportation and warehousing.

The Department of Labor reports little change was made in other major industries.

This jobs report is often given the most attention, being that it released prior to the general election.

Even though the unemployment rate dropped throughout much of the country, some parts of southeast Iowa are still hurting when it comes to the job market.

On Friday, small business owners gathered at the Overhead Door Company of Ottumwa, voicing their frustration over the slow growth of the economy and the pace of recovery from the recession.

Some small business owners say that they want to see a change, so that their business, and others like them, can start to hire more employees.

“The numbers went down just a little, but the people are hurting very bad; and how many people are still only on part time business or are under-employed. We have one friend, who for 14 months, as a professional, was looking for work; and he is going to have to leave Ottumwa,” said Trudy Caviness, who owns Colorworks Inc. in downtown Ottumwa with her husband Keith.

According to Caviness, Colorworks Inc. has seven employees.

“If you talk about the state of the economy in Wapello County, we have had 250 applicants for employment come through the doors in the last 480 days. I think there's a couple of things we could do differently; I think maybe its time to have someone who understands business, doing business in the White House,” said Greg Showalter of Overhead Door Company of Ottumwa.

According to Showalter, Overhead Door Company of Ottumwa has 10 employees.