|
|
2009 Legislative Priorities
With growing rates of home foreclosures, unemployment, and poverty, the nation and Iowa are faced with economic challenges in the years ahead. Iowa’s subprime mortgage foreclosure rate is 8.6%, which is the fourth highest rate in the country (Office of the Attorney General, 2008). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of Iowans living in poverty increased 30% between 2000 and 2005 (The Cedar Rapids Gazette, 2008). Additionally, Iowa’s unemployment rate has increased in the last year, and in the month of October alone Iowa’s manufacturing companies announced approximately 1,000 layoffs.
With the natural disasters that struck Iowa in the summer of 2008, there came additional, significant needs. The Governor’s Office estimates that 40,000 Iowans were displaced from their homes (2008 Flood Resource Center, nd), and the number of individuals who were eligible to receive emergency unemployment compensation benefits was estimated to be more than 74,000 workers (Iowa Workforce Development, 2008). As displaced workers relocate to other jobs or regions of the state, it will be essential for them to transition with ease and opportunity.
Each of these challenges – increasing home foreclosure rates, unemployment, and poverty – compounded by the recent disasters, will impact Iowa’s workforce and highlights the need for training and re-training opportunities in the state. With the current potential for Iowans to change careers or change jobs within their fields, there is a need to provide them with opportunities for additional education and training, as well as a need to enable them to make decisions based on workforce needs and high-demand occupations.
This year, the Association of Iowa Workforce Partners has focused on three areas to improve access to workforce training and services, and three issue briefs on these topics are linked below.
|
