Johnson County sees increased job growth

IOWA CITY - Johnson County's workforce continues to grow along with the population increase, and the metropolitan area is poised to outpace last year's average monthly job growth, according to an economic growth report.

The Metro Employment Index released earlier this month by North Carolina-based research and consultancy firm Syneva Economics indicates that job growth in the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area - which includes Johnson and Washington counties - has averaged a monthly increase of nearly 2 percent from January through April of this year.

So far, the metropolitan area is on pace to outshine last year's average monthly growth of 1.4 percent.

Mark Nolte, president of Iowa City Area Development Group, said job growth is trending well with the area's growing population.

April marked the third consecutive month with fewer metros growing nationwide, which means the Iowa City area needs to continue to attract employees to the area through regional branding, drawing more employers, keeping existing job creators and supporting the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, Nolte said.

For the Corridor's MediRevv, growth has averaged roughly 30 percent annually, MediRevv vice president of operations Brad Baldwin said.

Baldwin attributed MediRevv's high expectations, professional staff and even the talent and resources available in the Corridor as factors to the company's success.

'Being headquartered here, growing here and the access to talent that gives us has been absolutely critical to our ability to live up to the promises we've made to our clients and the growth we've been able to achieve,” he said. 'We've grown over the last eight years from an idea in (founder Chris Klitgaard's) basement to today, where we now have about 300 employees.”

It's stories like MediRevv's that can be used to attract even more businesses and professionals, Nolte said.