Iowa to conduct laborshed studies in every county

The state of Iowa plans to conduct laborshed studies to provide "meaningful insights into the availability of labor” in every county in the state, according to a news release. 

The studies will be funded by the state and the data will be shared with local economic development organizations and partners for free.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Workforce Development will finance the studies through a new partnership announced Thursday by the governor's office. 

The departments previously conducted laborshed studies at the request of local economic development organizations, which picked up 25 percent of the study costs, according to Cory Kelly, an Iowa Workforce Development spokesman. 

With some local organizations unable to fund studies "we were left with holes geographically," Kelly said. 

The state has budgeted $950,000 for the program, which begins in July. 

“We could not be more excited to provide Iowa’s communities the most comprehensive labor data available in the marketplace through this partnership,” IEDA Director Debi Durham said in a news release.

Laborshed studies help businesses understand an area's labor availability based on commuting patterns and provide insight on worker characteristics, including skills and experience, education level, wages and likeliness to change positions. 

Studies will be conducted on a biennial basis, with half the state receiving the study in year one and the other half receiving the study in year two.