Posts Tagged ‘Economy’

Iowa Third Best in Employment Outlook in the U.S.

According to a Manpower survey, Iowa has the third best employment outlook in the country. The ranking came from a nationwide survey of employers for the upcoming third quarter, July through September. Alaska was first followed by North Dakota in the rankings.
Based on the survey, 25% of Iowa companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, and only 6% claimed they would reduce their workforce. There were 66% of the employers that said they would maintain their current workforce numbers.
Job prospects in Iowa appeared to be best in durable and nondurable goods manufacturing, transportation and utilities, information, financial activities, professional and business services, leisure, and hospitality. Employers in education, health services, and government plan to reduce staffing levels.

Tags: Economy, employment, Jobs, manpower
Category Jobs & Economy |

Iowa Ranked 8th in Economic Growth by U.S. Chamber of Commerce

The United States Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber Foundation have recognized Iowa as one of the top states in the country to do business, according to a study recently released. The study identified Iowa’s stability in key industries, success in exports, competitive workforce and business-friendly regulatory environment as factors in the ranking.

The Chamber’s “Enterprising States” study ranked Iowa eighth in terms of top economic performance, and Iowa ranked high among most of the criteria established by the study.

To view the entire Chamber study visit http://issuu.com/uschamber/docs/final-report-enterprising-states

Tags: Economy
Category Jobs & Economy |

Figures Show Over 5,300 Jobs Saved or Created

After making updates and adjustments to the data required under the Federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), it was determined that 5,323 jobs were created or retain in Iowa. These jobs were reported for ARRA fund expenditures made through the end of September.
The most significant number of jobs created or saved is related to the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), which created or saved 2,275 jobs in school districts throughout Iowa. Funding for highway transportation projects created or saved 1,326 jobs.
Some of the biggest recipients of ARRA funds in this reporting period, which include entitlement programs, are exempt from the Section 1512 reporting process. These exempt funds include the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) program, which represents nearly 39% of all of Iowa’s ARRA expenditures to date.
A more detailed listing of jobs created/saved is available on the www.recovery.gov website. The next round of reporting will begin January 10, 2010.

Tags: Economy, federal money, Jobs
Category Jobs & Economy |

Committee to Revitalize Iowa’s Workforce Meets

The Iowa Job Training Needs Subcommittee with co-chairs State Representative Wayne Ford of Des Moines and Senator Bill Dotzler of Waterloo met today in order to develop recommendations to revitalize Iowa’s workforce.

Even prior to the downturn in the economy, Democrats planned an interim committee on job training to develop ideas to improve Iowa’s workforce. The particular focus of this interim committee was on underserved populations, that includes low-income people, minorities, women, disabled and former non-violent felons reentering society.

This is one of the first steps to get Iowans back into the workforce. The time is right for Iowans to look at redeveloping their skills and finish the training they need for a new career, perhaps in a better paying job.

Also in attendance were State Representative Dave Jacoby of Coralville, State Representative Tom Schueller of Maquoketa, Senator Brian Schoenjahn of Arlington and Senator Roger Stewart of Preston.

Tags: Economy, Jobs, subcommittees
Category Jobs & Economy |

Iowa’s Employment Numbers Outperform Neighboring States

While unemployment numbers continue to rise, Iowa continues to buck the regional trend of our neighboring states with unemployment of 8% and above.  Iowa has made historic investments into infrastructure and renewable energy and those investments are paying off with lower than average (for the region) unemployment numbers.

(Image from Huffington Post)

Tags: Economy, Iowa, Jobs, plains states, unemployment, upper midwest
Category Jobs & Economy |