Business Participation Needed For Laborshed Project

The Greater Des Moines Partnership will be working with Iowa Workforce Development’s Regional Research Bureau and other partners to complete a Laborshed employment study for Greater Des Moines (DSM). Area employers are encouraged to participate. Employers have been mailed a letter detailing how they can help with the process by providing us with aggregate counts of their employees’ residential ZIP codes. This reporting will give us an understanding of where each community’s workforce resides. Please watch for the letter in coming days, and respond within three weeks to participate in the study. Business participation is essential to completing the study. The study will assist existing and potential businesses to better understand the size and characteristics of the area’s labor force regardless of political boundaries.

Once the Laborshed area is determined, a confidential household telephone survey will be conducted in identified 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 DSM labor force as well as various labor force characteristics. Iowa Workforce Development will not be asking survey takers any identifiable information such as: name, social security number or date of birth.

The results for each local area and regional Laborshed analysis will be available online at the completion of the project.

Questions about the Laborshed workforce project can be directed to Katie Lippold, Project Manager with Iowa Workforce Development, at (515) 281-3035. Members of the media should contact Sophia S. Ahmad, Vice President of Public Relations at the Greater Des Moines Partnership, at (515) 286-4919.

About the Greater Des Moines Partnership 

The Greater Des Moines Partnership is the economic and community development organization that serves Greater Des Moines (DSM), Iowa. Together with 23 Affiliate Chambers of Commerce, more than 6,100 Regional Business Members and more than 320 Investors, The Partnership drives economic growth with one voice, one mission and as one region. Through innovation, strategic planning and global collaboration, The Partnership grows opportunity, helps create jobs and promotes DSM as the best place to build a business, a career and a future. Learn more at DSMpartnership.com.