Laborshed Telephone Surveys to Begin

IOWA LAKES CORRIDOR, May 18, 2012 (Press-News.org) The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation has been working with the Iowa Workforce Development's Regional Research Bureau to complete a Laborshed employment study for the Corridor region. . The study will assist existing and potential new businesses in better understanding the areas labor force and characteristics regardless of political boundaries.

The Laborshed boundary is based on the place of residence of individuals working in the Corridor region. For the success of this study, Iowa Workforce Development has asked employers in the Laborshed area to provide aggregate counts of their employees by ZIP code by place of residence. This reporting will give a better understanding of where each community' s workforce resides.

Now that the Laborshed area has been determined, a confidential household telephone survey will begin starting the week of May 14. The questions will cover topics such as employment status, wages, benefits, education, and occupation. Survey results will then be applied to demographic data to develop a total potential labor force of the Laborshed as well as estimates for various labor force characteristics. Each telephone survey takes approximately 10 minutes; all information collected is confidential, and all reporting is in aggregate form.

The Iowa Lakes Corridor has done Laborshed analyses before. The last Corridor Laborshed was released in 2009. The Corridor has a goal to satisfy employer demand for worker training by identifying, coordinating or creating new training partners, programs and resources. Completing the Laborshed study is one tactic in achieving this goal.

"The Laborshed study a unique and effective tool for retaining and expanding existing companies, as well as a business attraction resource," said Shaun Arneson, vice president of the Iowa Lakes Corridor. "Resident's participation in the telephone survey is very much appreciated. The more people that participate, the more comprehensive the results will be."

The Laborshed analysis will be available by nodes, Estherville, Spirit Lake, Spencer and Storm Lake, as well as the Corridor region as a whole. The node communities typically have the largest geographic draw of labor in the area. Smaller towns fall within the umbrella of the node community. Information collected on the node community helps explain the general characteristics of the surrounding communities. The completed Laborshed Study will be available late summer.

For questions about the Laborshed employment study project, please contact Ryan Murphy with Iowa Workforce Development at 515-281-7505 or the Iowa Lakes Corridor at 712-264-3474.

The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation is the regional economic development agency for Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet counties. Its mission is to foster, encourage, aid, promote or otherwise assist in the economic growth and development of the region. For more information about the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, call 712-264-3474 or visit http://www.lakescorridor.com.

For more information, contact:
Carrie Cunningham, 712-264-3474