Employee Connections

Laborshed Analysis

 

The purpose of this Laborshed Analysis is to measure the availability and characteristics of workers within the region by developing and conducting a telephone survey based on geographic principles.

The Laborshed data generated aids local development officials in their facilitation of industry expansion and recruitment and their service to existing industry in the area. All such entities require detailed data describing the characteristics of the available labor force including current/desired wage rates and benefits, job qualifications and skills, age cohorts, residence/work location, employment requirements/obstacles, and the distances individuals are willing to travel for employment.

In order to determine the boundaries of the Laborshed area, Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) worked closely with Cass/Atlantic Economic Development to identify where current employees reside. Employees were then aggregated into ZIP codes and placed into a geographic display for analysis.

The following sections of this report summarize the results of the Laborshed survey. Due to the magnitude of the survey results, it is not practical to review each set of variables. Instead, IWD has focused on the factors that we have found to be the most valuable to existing and future businesses. However, IWD will certainly conduct additional analyses if the development corporations and/or local businesses desire further review of specific variable(s) or sets of responses.

Download Laborshed-Report