Where do Iowans work?

by Don Hendricks, CIRAS
Services and wholesale/retail are lowa's biggest employers with over 300,000 workers in each sector. Services are growing steadily, and wholesale/retail varies seasonally but has generally increased through the last two years. Finance/real estate/insurance and transportation/utilities have been steady. The construction industry varies with the season, ranging from a low of 45,400 to a high of 63,600 workers.
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Manufacturing has remained fairly stable over the last two years. The numbers show a small trend down from March of 1995, when there were 250,800 manufacturing workers, to March of 1996, when there were 247,100, and March of 1997 when there were 245,800 workers. During that period the number of manufacturing workers fluctuated from a high of 251,700 to a low of 245,300. Employment in manufacturing can be viewed as flat and stable. While some cities have lost manufacturing plants, others have attracted new ones. Also, some plants have gotten smaller and some have grown. The net result for the state has been that the numbers remain fairly stable.

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Employment in durable goods has been increasing while in nondurable goods it has been decreasing. In March of 1995, 141,200 people worked to produce durable goods; in March of 1996 there were 139,800 workers, and in March of 1997 there were 143,100. For non-durable goods, in March of 1995 there were 108,500 workers, in March of 1996 there were 107,300 workers, and in March of 1997 there were 102,700 workers.

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Manufacturing makes up 18 percent of the Iowa workforce. Wholesale/retail and services make up the largest share at 25 percent each of the Iowa workforce. The smallest part of the Iowa workforce is construction at 4 percent. Federal, state, and local governments made up 17 percent of the workforce. These percentages are based on a 12 month average from March of 1996 through March of 1997.

 

 

Information taken from issues of "Iowa Economic Trends" published by the Iowa Department of Economic Development, edited by Harvey Siegelman, State Economist, http://www.state.ia.us.

CIRAS News, Vol. 31, No. 4, Summer1997

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