Job shortages may have become more prevalent since the Covid-19 pandemic, but Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend says that has long been an issue before then. 

Townsend tells Raccoon Valley Radio that Iowa typically has more jobs than workers available. She notes that immediately following the pandemic, there were more than 80,000 job openings. Townsend demonstrates that in 2024, Iowa is sitting at about 59,000 jobs available and zeroes in on Dallas County, combined with the metro.

“There’s probably 12,000 jobs of all varieties in the Dallas and Polk county area. There’s a little over 800 job openings in advanced manufacturing just in the Polk County-Dallas County area.”

With the announcement of the Tyson Foods Pork Plant that will be shutting down at the end of June in Perry, Townsend emphasizes that the goal is to connect affected employees to local employers in Dallas County.