The City of Webster City will be working with Iowa Workforce Development’s Regional Research Bureau to complete a Laborshed employment study for the Webster City/Hamilton County area.

This study will define the areas from which Webster City/Hamilton County area employers draw their employees and will further examine that labor force. The study is based upon commuting patterns into the area and it will assist existing and potential businesses with a better understanding of the size and characteristics of the area’s labor force, regardless of political boundaries.

The Laborshed boundary is based on the place of residence of individuals commuting into the Webster City/Hamilton County area for employment. For the success of this study, the city will send letters to employers in Webster City/Hamilton County asking that they provide us with aggregate counts of their employees’ residential ZIP codes. This reporting will give an understanding of where each community’s workforce resides.

Once that Laborshed area is determined, a confidential household telephone survey will be conducted in those identified areas. The survey call originates out of Cedar Rapids, therefore, the incoming number will have a 319 area code. The survey 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 Webster City/Hamilton County area labor force as well as reveal various labor force characteristics unique to the area. 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 county and regional Laborshed analysis conducted by Iowa Workforce Development is available online at https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/laborshed.

For more information abou the Laborshed workforce project, contact Katie Lippold, project manager at 515-281-3035 or Daniel Ortiz-Hernandez, city manager at 832-9151.