Labor shortage leaves Iowa in a crunch
Posted: Monday, September 01, 2008
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa will add about 2,000 jobs a month for the next several years while its boomer population begins to retire. The combination leaves the state in a labor crunch, with an expected loss of 200,000 workers during the next 25 years.
An Iowa Workforce Development survey released in January says healthcare, computer science, social services, manufacturing, business and finance will suffer the most.
To counteract the losses, the state is trying different strategies for the different fields.
Denise Siemers, a recruiter for Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, said she is traveling to more than a dozen job fairs a year to sell candidates on the Midwest's lifestyle and cost of living.
"We know if we can get them here, they love it," Siemers said. "Getting them here is the issue."
The hospital is also doling out as much as $10,000 to successfully refer a physician to the hospital.
The hospital is also enacting flexible schedules, perks for working weekend hours and tapping more part-time or retired workers to help fill the ranks.
In manufacturing, which is projected to suffer the same kinds of losses as the healthcare field, companies are turning to colleges for labor. In northern Iowa, businesses are looking to North Iowa Area Community College, Kaplan University and others to offer internships, curriculum and placement.
Another Iowa Workforce Development report said Iowa's low unemployment rate, combined with high labor force participation rates have resulted in fewer workers for most of the past decade. That same report said immigration contributed to two-thirds of Iowa's 5.4 percent population growth between 1990 and 2000.
An Iowa Workforce Development "workforce needs assessment" showed that healthcare, personal services, wholesale and retail and manufacturing accounted for 57 percent of the state's job vacancies in 2006.
An Iowa Workforce Development survey released in January says healthcare, computer science, social services, manufacturing, business and finance will suffer the most.
To counteract the losses, the state is trying different strategies for the different fields.
Denise Siemers, a recruiter for Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa, said she is traveling to more than a dozen job fairs a year to sell candidates on the Midwest's lifestyle and cost of living.
"We know if we can get them here, they love it," Siemers said. "Getting them here is the issue."
The hospital is also doling out as much as $10,000 to successfully refer a physician to the hospital.
The hospital is also enacting flexible schedules, perks for working weekend hours and tapping more part-time or retired workers to help fill the ranks.
In manufacturing, which is projected to suffer the same kinds of losses as the healthcare field, companies are turning to colleges for labor. In northern Iowa, businesses are looking to North Iowa Area Community College, Kaplan University and others to offer internships, curriculum and placement.
Another Iowa Workforce Development report said Iowa's low unemployment rate, combined with high labor force participation rates have resulted in fewer workers for most of the past decade. That same report said immigration contributed to two-thirds of Iowa's 5.4 percent population growth between 1990 and 2000.
An Iowa Workforce Development "workforce needs assessment" showed that healthcare, personal services, wholesale and retail and manufacturing accounted for 57 percent of the state's job vacancies in 2006.
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Leah Cauthron wrote on Sep 1, 2008 9:25 AM: