Laborshed employment study

  The Washington Economic Development Group is working with the Iowa Workforce Development’s Regional Research & Analysis Bureau to complete a Laborshed employment study for the Washington County area.  This study will develop the potential labor force from which the Washington area employers draw their employees.  The study will assist existing and potential new businesses in better understanding the areas labor force and characteristics. This study is part of a regional, multi-county effort. 

The Laborshed boundary is based on the place of residence of individuals working in the Washington area.  For the success of this study, we are asking employers in the Laborshed area to provide aggregate counts of their employees by ZIP code by place of residence.  For example, you would report that you have 16 employees residing in ZIP code 51101.

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.

If you have any question about the Laborshed employment study project or the employer reporting sheets, please contact Ryan Murphy at 515-281-7505 or Ed Raber at 319-653-3942.

The funding for this project came from a grant from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation, and from Alliant Energy. Thank you for your support.

###

CONTACT:

Ryan Murphy, Project Manager

Iowa Workforce Development

1000 E Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50319

Telephone:  515-281-7505

FAX:  515-281-9656

Or

Ed Raber, Executive Director

Washington Economic Development Group

205 West Main Street

Washington, Iowa 52353

Telephone:  319-653-3942

FAX:  319-653-5805

wedg@iowatelecom.net

Washington County Unemployment drops to 5.2%

Unemployment rates and the number of unemployed persons dropped in Washington County again in May, 2010. The County's unemployment rate fell a half percent to 5.2% from 5.7% in April. The laborforce remained steady at 12,400.

In addition, the number of unemployed persons fell from 700 to 600 in May. This accounted for around one-third of the drop in unemployed persons in the Iowa City MSA.

There were a total of 223 Washington County residents receiving unemployment benefits in May.  During the month, 18 receiving their final benefits payment and 48 received their first benefits payment.

The Iowa UR fell to 6.8% in May, 1.6% higher than Washington County. The national UR is still a very high 9.7%, although it fell from 9.9% in April.

Henry County's UR fell out of double digits, mostly due to a drop in the size of its labor force. Jefferson, Keokuk and Louisa Counties also had slight drops in laborforce as well, which accounted for a portion of the decrease in unemployment rates.

                      APRIL  2010                  MAY  2010

COUNTIES:             LABOR                        LABOR
(NOT SEASONAL ADJ.)   FORCE    EMP   UNEMP RATE    FORCE    EMP  UNEMP RATE
WASHINGTON
  (PART OF IC MSA) ..  12400   11700   700  5.7    12400   11700   600  5.2 
JOHNSON (PART OF MSA)  81600   77800  3800  4.7    81700   78200  3500  4.3 
HENRY ..............    9970    8860  1110 11.1     9830    8940   880  9.0 
JEFFERSON ..........    8230    7490   740  9.0     8180    7530   660  8.0 
KEOKUK .............    5660    5240   420  7.4     5550    5190   360  6.5 
LINN (PART OF MSA) .  123300  114800  8500  6.9   123300  115400  7900  6.4 
LOUISA .............   6310   5770   540  8.6   6230    5770   460  7.4

IOWA CITY MSA ......   94000   89400  4500  4.8    94000   89900  4200  4.4

IOWA (SEASONAL ADJ). 168920 1572800 116400  6.9 1687000 1571600 115400  6.8

U.S. (SEASONAL ADJ)*  154715  139455  15260 9.9   154393  139420 14973  9.7 
  * FIGURES ROUNDED TO NEAREST THOUSAND

SOURCE: LABOR MARKET AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH BUREAU, 

IOWA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT  (515) 281-8182

Riverboat Foundation awards $750,000 in 28 grants

On June 16 at the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort, the Washington County Riverboat Foundation awarded 28 grants totaling $750,220. These grants are the Spring 2010 awards from the "Competitive Grant Fund."

Since its inception in 2006, the WCRF has awarded over $11 million to area non-profits from its "Competitive Grant Fund." The WCRF has awarded over $3 million to Washington County cities from its "Municipal Grant Fund."

1	Wilson Memorial Library (Keota) Internet Protection for Public Computers	$615
2	Washington Chapter DAR Emergency Repair of Young Log House	$1,000
3	Riverside VFW 6414 Parking Lot Extension	$3,000
4	Washington Econ. Development Group Regional Laborshed Analysis	$3,025
5	Lending Hands, Inc. Dining Room Furniture Update	$4,170
6	Main Street Washington/ Chamber of Commerce Celebrate Washington	$5,000
7	Aiming For A Cure Foundation Aiming for a Cure	$5,000
8	Make-A-Wish Foundation Wish Granting	$6,537
9	City of Brighton Municipal Bldg Updates & Improvements	$8,065
10	Mid-Prairie Community Schools Kalona Elementary Smart boards	$10,000
11	Richmond Amvets, Inc. Building Repair and Improvements	$12,000
12	Highland Community Schools Baseball/Softball Renovations	$12,000
13	City of Kalona Hancher Presents Ballet West II	$14,000
14	Washington Community Schools High-Speed Wireless Network	$20,000
15	Veterans Memorial Assoc. of Washington Phase 5	$20,000
16	WACO Schools Electronic Whiteboards and Projectors	$20,990
17	Highland Community Schools Fit School, Fit Community	$25,000
18	Washington County Historical Society Conger House Restoration/Heat&Cooling	$25,000
19	Keota Community Schools Phase 3 Baseball Field Project	$25,000
20	Knights of Columbus KC Hall Renovation	$25,000
21	Highland Community Schools/ABA Ball Field Improvements	$29,739
22	Washington Community Schools Media Enabled Classrooms	$30,000
23	Crawford Township Fire Assoc. Structural Firefighting Protective Equipment	$32,134
24	Mid-Prairie Community Schools 5-12 Grades Instrument Replace/Addition	$34,848
25	Washington County Libraries Washington County Libraries Connect	$36,000
26	Washington Community Schools (Stem) Student Enrichment Opportunities	$42,097
27	Main Street Washington/ Chamber of Commerce Main Street Facade Incentive	$50,000
28	Washington County Wayland Rd Paved Shoulder Bicycle Lane	$250,000
	TOTAL	$750,220

The WCRF is the non-profit license holder for the Riverside Casino and Golf Report.