Regional laborshed study planned

Employers in a seven-county region of Eastern Iowa should have a better idea of where they can find new employees when a laborshed study is completed later this year.

Economic development organizations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and other parts of Iowa's Creative Corridor will be working with Iowa Workforce Development's Regional Research Bureau to complete a laborshed employment study. It will be based on commuting patterns into the area.

The study will help existing and potential businesses better understand the size and characteristics of the area's labor force regardless of political boundaries.

Laborshed boundaries are based on where people live who commute into the region for employment. Letters will be sent to employers in the region asking them provide aggregate counts of their employees' residential ZIP codes.

After the laborshed areas are determined, a confidential household telephone survey will be conducted in those areas. The questions will cover topics such as employment status, current and desired wages, current and desired benefits, education level, and type of occupation.

Survey results will be applied to demographic data to determine the size of the region's labor force as well as various characteristics those working in the area.

Iowa Workforce Development will not be asking for identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number or date of birth.

Workforce attraction and retention continues to be the largest challenge for businesses in the seven-county region. Kim Becicka, vice president of continuing education and training services at Kirkwood Community College, said regional laborshed data needs to be updated to provide employers with the latest information to help them identify and attract potential workers.