A laborshed is defined as the area or region from which an employment center draws its commuting workers. In order to determine the approximate boundaries of the Clinton laborshed, local employers supplied the Zip code listings of where each of their employees reside. The Zip code information was aggregated and plotted for geographic analysis (see map).

The laborshed study shows the distribution of the workers irrespective of natural or political boundaries. The laborshed also addresses underemployment, the availability and willingness of current and prospective employees to change employment within the workforce, current and desired occupations, wages, hours worked and distance willing to commute to work.

A telephone survey was taken of residents (ages 18-64) living within three laborshed zones. The zones represent the areas in which actual employees of Clinton businesses reside, with Zone 1 having the highest and Zone 3 the smallest concentration of Clinton employees. A total of 407 random telephone surveys were completed in order to achieve a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent for the survey.

The laborshed study provides developers and existing/ prospective employers a flexible tool to understand the local labor market and make informed site selection decisions.

Additional labor information regarding the laborshed may be obtained by contacting the Institute for Decision Making at the University of Northern Iowa. Analysis and presentations may be tailored to suit individual needs and the changing labor market.

Employed: Willing to Change Employment

• 78% of laborshed residents (18-64) are employed
• 33% of the laborshed are employed & willing to change employment under the right conditions
• In the laborshed it is estimated that 3,482 persons are “very likely” to change & 7,502 are “somewhat likely” to change employment
• 83.3% are full-time, 13% are part-time, 2.2% hold temporary positions, and 1.4% were self-employed
• 95% have a H.S. education & 24% have undergraduate/graduate degrees

Not Currently Employed

• 22% of the laborshed are persons not currently employed
• 14% of the laborshed are persons not currently employed but are “very or somewhat willing” to accept employment opportunities

Unemployed

• 6.3% of the laborshed is estimated to be Unemployed persons willing to accept employment - an estimated 2,144 persons
• 58% unemployed for less than 1 year
• 54% male, median age of 36
• Experience in production & service occupations
• Estimated Wage Threshold of $9.00 - $10.00/hr.
• 73% desire full-time hours
• Desire health, dental, and vision benefits
• Interested in cross-training & job sharing

Homemakers

• 6.6% of the laborshed is estimated to be Homemakers willing to accept employment – an estimated 2,107 persons
• Have diverse work experience – often in service occupations
• Majority female, median age of 42
• An estimated Wage Threshold of $7.50 - $8.00/hr.
• 44% have education beyond high school
• Most of the homemakers returning to work would be interested in seasonal and/or temporary work

• 1.5% of the laborshed is Retired persons willing to accept employment – an estimated 488 persons
• The majority would prefer part-time employment, and most would consider seasonal and/or temporary employment
• Represent an experienced pool of labor

Underemployment

• 14% of the laborshed are underemployed for one or more reasons
• 2.2% underemployed by inadequate hours
• 8.7% underemployed due to a mismatch of skills
• 4.6% underemployed due to low income
• The factors are not totaled to calculate total underemployment. Individuals may be underemployed for more than one reason.

The laborshed studies are products of a partnership between Iowa Workforce Development, Iowa Department of Economic Development and the University of Northern Iowa’s Institute for Decision Making. The partnership strives to provide innovative and highly practical labor related data to Iowa’s community developers, existing industries, prospective employers and economic development entities.

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