Laborshed Studies

A SURVEY OF IOWA’S LABOR FORCE

Laborshed studies are supply-side, labor availability studies. They provide community leaders, economic developers, site selectors and existing or prospective employers a flexible tool for understanding the workforce characteristics of their local labor market.

A Laborshed is defined as the area or region from which an employment center draws its commuting workers. It shows the distribution of these workers regardless of political boundaries.  Laborshed studies also address underemployment, availability of labor and likeliness of the employed or not employed to change or accept employment. Other topics covered within a Laborshed analysis include: current and desired occupations, wages, hours worked, job search resources and distance willing to commute to work. For more information regarding survey methodology please visit the Laborshed Survey Methodology page.

LABORSHED REPORTS

The following drop-down menus provide links to current Laborshed data by geography. The data is provided in two formats. The first drop-down for each geography type (city or region) links to an interactive presentation-style narrative of the data collected for the area. The second drop-down provides an executive summary, in a PDF file format, for each area.

LABORSHED DATA TOOL

Note: For optimal experience we recommend using the Google Chrome browser (download here). For assistance in navigating the Tableau visualization below, visit the Tableau Guide.

Laborshed FAQ (https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/labor-market-information-frequently-asked-questions#Laborshed)

Current Laborshed data can be viewed and explored in the Tableau visualization below. Navigate the various visualizations by using the tabs at the top of the frame. To customize the view, adjust the available filters to select the geography your are interested in as well as the category and/or subgroup.

View the data

Laborshed Studies

A flexible data tool for understanding the local labor market.

See Visualization

TABLEAU KEY

If you need access to additional Laborshed data or need it presented in a different format feel free to contact the Laborshed team with your request: Laborshed.Studies@iwd.iowa.gov.