DES MOINES — As the Iowa economy continues to grow and Iowa’s unemployment rate is seventh-lowest in the country, rising consumer confidence and a strong workforce make Iowa a great place to live, work and run a business.
The newly released Iowa's Workforce and the Economy report highlights trends that make Iowa an attractive state for businesses that want to expand or relocate, and offers rich start-up opportunities for entrepreneurs.
“Iowa has a lot to offer employers across the country as they look at where to start, relocate or expand their businesses. Iowa offers a strong and educated workforce, and offers a low average unemployment insurance tax rate and superior management of the UI trust fund, resulting in significant tax savings for employers,” Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend said.
This snapshot was compiled by IWD Labor Market Research Analysts using information obtained through a variety of sources.
Some highlights include:
The labor force in Iowa reached an all-time high in 2014; Exports expanded by $1.2 billion dollars; Job gains were highest in metropolitan areas; Personal income increased by 1.4 percent; Per capita personal income climbed to $45,115 from $44,763 in 2013; and Most sectors are expected to add jobs or maintain current levels through the end of 2015.
Steady, incremental growth best describes the occupation projections during the 2012-2022 period- Iowa is projected to have 11.2 percent cumulative growth (or 1.1 percent annual growth) across all occupational groups.
This represents an increase in occupational employment from 1,758,205 in 2012 to 1,955,480 in 2022.
The largest growth rates in the major occupational groups are expected in Construction and Extraction, Computer and Mathematical, Personal Care and Service, Healthcare (Support and Practitioner), and Community and Social Service.
In terms of number of jobs, the largest anticipated increases are Office and Administrative, Sales, Transportation and Material Moving, Construction and Extraction, Healthcare Practitioner, Food Preparation and Production.
The Iowa occupations with the fastest growth rate over the next decade are expected to be interpreters/translators, medical sonographers, occupational therapy assistants, information security analysts, insulation workers, meeting/convention planners, actuaries, physical therapists assistants, personal care aides, and postsecondary health teachers
The occupations with the largest growth in number of jobs are expected to be truck drivers, registered nurses, food prep/serving workers, retail salespersons, customer service reps, laborers/material movers, childcare workers, home health aides, janitors and cleaners, and cashiers
Unemployment
Iowa’s statewide annual average unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent in 2014 from 4.7 percent in 2013 and is currently at 3.8 percent
The number of unemployed persons in Iowa averaged 74,000 in 2014, down from 78,200 in 2013
Men accounted for 60 percent of the unemployed in Iowa in 2014, compared to women who made up 40 percent
Minorities and youth continued to experience the highest rates of unemployment: Blacks or African Americans (14.1 percent), youth 16 to 19 years of age (12.0 percent), and Hispanics (8.5 percent)
Workers with less education also continued to experience a higher unemployment rate than better educated individuals:
Iowans with less than a high school diploma (10.9 percent)
High school graduates with no college (5.8 percent)
Iowans with some college or associate’s degree (4.6 percent)
Iowans with a Bachelor’s degree or higher (2.1 percent)
Iowa’s economy continues to expand:
2014 was the fourth consecutive year of growth in nonfarm employment, ending the year at a record level
Compared to surrounding states in 2014, four of the six states had higher rates of growth than Iowa’s (1.3 percent)
The United States as a whole had a growth rate of 1.9 percent
The gap between Iowa’s rate of growth and that of the country has increasingly widened over the past four years, with the nation’s rate of growth exceeding Iowa’s each year
The overwhelming majority of Iowa’s super-sectors experienced gains in nonfarm employment from 2013-2014
The only sectors with job losses were private education (800 jobs lost) information (500 jobs lost) and mining and logging (100 jobs lost)
The information sector is down 8,000 jobs (23.8 percent) from its peak of 33,600 in 2007 as new technology and information delivery systems continue to play a role in the reduction of the sector’s employment
Construction/Manufacturing data
Construction employment surged due to steady, moderate demand from residential homebuyers coupled with several large-scale industrial projects
Strong employment gains occurred in construction and professional and business services from 2013 to 2014
Manufacturing also added jobs each of the last four years
The construction sector of Iowa’s economy consists of 74,263 private-sector employees and almost 1,500 public sector employees
Construction is the seventh largest sector of Iowa’s economy and represents about 5.8 percent of Iowa’s total private sector employment.
Average annual income for construction workers in Iowa was $51,937, about 25 percent higher than the average private sector employee’s wage of $41,965.
The economic downturn from 2008 to 2010 was especially hard on the construction sector in Iowa; while the State’s economy as a whole dropped by 4.3 percent during this period, the construction sector dropped by 15.7 percent.
This large gap meant that it took longer for the construction sector to recover
Although the number of jobs statewide surpassed their pre-recession high in 2013, it took the construction sector until 2014 to return to 2008 levels
Since 2011, construction has been making a strong comeback- the number of construction jobs in Iowa increased by nearly 10 percent between 2013 and 2014, while the entire state economy grew by less than 1.5 percent
Home sales data
Home sales in Iowa remained fairly steady from 2013 to 2014 with just 0.4 percent fewer sales in 2014
The average price of homes increased 1.3 percent from 2013 to 2014, up to $157,385
The year ended on a positive note, with home sales for the month of December up 4.8 percent from the previous year and pending sales up 8.2 percent
When combined with the current low home mortgage interest rates, this end-of-year boost bodes well for a solid 2015
Agriculture
Corn and soybean profits fell sharply through 2014, leading many to believe 2015 will be a challenging year for farmers
The average profit for bushel of corn (or grain) dropped 66.2 percent from 2013 to 2014 and, with exception of a small gain in December, has declined each month since June 2013
Profits from soybeans have suffered a similar setback, although there was a hint of comeback mid-year before continuing to decline
The Iowa Department of Revenue reported the change in average profits from 2013 to 2014 was 27.9 percent
Iowa’s Hot Jobs and STEM Jobs
Hot Jobs examine an occupation’s rate of growth and rate of pay and must be higher than the state average for all occupations in both annual growth and salary
STEM Jobs refer to occupations heavily dependent on acquiring tools and skills from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). These occupations can be found predominantly in Computer and Mathematical; Architecture and Engineering; Life, Physical, and Social Science: and Healthcare (Practitioner and Support) occupational groups
To view the full report, go to http://iwin.iwd.state.ia.us/pubs/pubs/iowaworkforceandtheeconomy.pdf