Governor Kim Reynolds’ bill to reorganize state agencies is causing some concerns about one office’s ability to protect Iowans from unfair electricity and natural gas rates.
Iowa’s Office of Consumer Advocate reviews utility rates and can help prevent unfair rate hikes. Reynolds’ bill would remove merit protection for O-C-A staff and put the attorney general in charge of hiring. That means the attorney general could fire an OCA worker without showing “just cause.”
Paige Yontz with the AARP Iowa says employees need to feel protected so they can give their unfiltered analysis of rates proposed by powerful utility companies.
“I think that this office holds a really important spot in the consumer advocacy space in the state of Iowa. And it’s something we can’t live without, right? Utilities are non-negotiable. And so ensuring everybody has access to that fair pricing structure is just incredibly important.”
Republican Senator Jason Schultz, of Schleswig, says opponents of the provision are overinflating the independence of the OCA. He says these changes would make OCA staff consistent with most of the attorney general’s office.
The January labor numbers are in, and they show unemployment dropped in Iowa to three percent compared to three-point-one percent for December.
A spokesperson with Iowa Workforce Development tells Radio Iowa there’s another number that’s more important. The state surpassed a 68% labor force participation rate. The labor force is the number of people working and those who are actively looking for work.
There were also around 17,000 more Iowans in the labor force than a year ago. *More from Iowa Workforce Development can be found below.
The latest report on the 19 state-regulated casinos shows their economic impact on the state tops one billion dollars.
Racing and Gaming administrator Brian Ohorilko says that includes all the money spent by the facilities, including payroll, taxes, and charitable donations.
Ohorilko also tells Radio Iowa nearly 92% of spending by casinos is with Iowa companies.
The 2023 Farm Bill will be the topic of a town hall meeting planned for northwest Iowa on Wednesday. The event Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. near Sanborn will be hosted by Republican U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra. Feenstra has been working to stop China from buying American farmland. Feenstra also plans to announce his “Agriculture Advisory Board.”
Address for town hall: 3319 Polk Avenue Sanborn, Iowa
Even though there is a potential for more snow later this week Woodbury County Emergency Management is getting ready for the summer storm season. The organization is hosting a severe weather awareness storm spotter training session with the National Weather Service tomorrow night. The meeting takes place on the campus of Western Iowa Tech Community College at the Rocklin Center at 7 p.m.
RAGBRAI which starts in Sioux City this year announced the full route for this year’s ride. Daytime stops will be in Kingsley, Washta, and Quimby before stopping in Storm Lake. Cyclists will head to Carroll the next day through the communities of Early, Lake View, Breda, and Mt. Carmel.
Submitted news releases:
Large Growth in Labor Force and Jobs Pushes Iowa Unemployment Rate to 3.0 in January
DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa’s unemployment rate was 3.0 percent in January, down from the 3.1 percent initially announced in December. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate decreased to 3.4 percent. Iowa’s December unemployment rate was also revised to 3.0 percent. The total number of unemployed Iowans fell to 51,100 in January, down 1,200 from revised December data. The total number of working Iowans decreased by 500 to 1,669,900, although it remains 10,800 above January 2022. An increase of 8,300 jobs to start the year helped Iowa achieve a 68.1 percent labor force participation rate in January. The labor force participation rate was down slightly from a revised December rate of 68.2 percent, but up from the previously announced labor force participation rate of 67.6 percent and remains near the highest level Iowa has seen since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The significant increases in both the number of Iowans with jobs and the number of people rejoining the labor force are very positive signs,” said Beth Townsend, Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “Iowa has worked hard over the last year to make it easier to connect Iowans with open jobs, including adding one-on-one assistance through our Reemployment Case Management program from the first week of unemployment. Decreasing the amount of time between jobs helps working Iowans and our employers who are looking for hardworking new employees. This is the engine that helps fuel our economy.” The last five years of monthly labor force data (2018-2022) recently were revised as part of a required review by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. This “benchmarking” is the annual process of re-estimating statistics as more complete data becomes available, such as updated data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Prior-year estimates for the Current Employment Statistics (CES) and Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) programs – key statistical measures of employment – are benchmarked annually. Revised data are incorporated in January employment statistics when they are released each March.
Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment
Iowa’s establishments added 8,300 jobs to begin the year, raising total nonfarm employment to an all-time high of 1,591,300 jobs. This monthly gain is sizable and largely the result of goods-producing industries bolstering staffing levels in January. Combined, goods-producers added 5,400 jobs and private service industries advanced by 2,300 jobs. Government increased slightly (+600) thanks to hiring in state government education. Construction added the most jobs in January (+3,900), a sizable increase that may evidence that workers in this industry are increasingly working later into the year. The increase pushed construction to its highest-so-far employment level in Iowa at 86,200 jobs. Manufacturing rose again in January (+1,400). Gains were generally within nondurable goods shops and concentrated within food manufacturing and animal slaughtering and processing. Other increases included health care and social assistance (+1,300). Alternatively, job losses were smaller in magnitude and concentrated in administrative support and waste management (-900). Annually, Iowa firms have added 38,200 jobs to their payrolls over the past twelve months. Substantial gains have been in leisure and hospitality (+8,400) as more firms return to pre-COVID operating levels. Private education has also grown substantially over the past twelve months (+6,000) as most institutions are back to in-person learning in some capacity. Other gains included construction (+5,900) and health care and social assistance (+5,700). Those sectors showing weakness since last year include administrative support and waste management (-2,200) and transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-1,000).
Employment and Unemployment in Iowa, Seasonally Adjusted Data | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Change from | |
| January | December | January | December | January |
| 2023 | 2022 | 2022 | 2022 | 2022 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Civilian labor force | 1,721,000 | 1,722,700 | 1,704,300 | -1,700 | 16,700 |
Unemployment | 51,100 | 52,300 | 45,200 | -1,200 | 5,900 |
Unemployment rate | 3.0% | 3.0% | 2.7% | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Employment | 1,669,900 | 1,670,400 | 1,659,100 | -500 | 10,800 |
Labor Force Participation Rate | 68.1% | 68.2% | 67.8% | -0.1 | 0.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S. unemployment rate | 3.4% | 3.5% | 4.0% | -0.1 | -0.6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nonfarm Employment in Iowa, Seasonally Adjusted Data | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Nonfarm Employment | 1,591,300 | 1,583,000 | 1,553,100 | 8,300 | 38,200 |
Mining | 2,500 | 2,400 | 2,200 | 100 | 300 |
Construction | 86,200 | 82,300 | 80,300 | 3,900 | 5,900 |
Manufacturing | 225,600 | 224,200 | 220,500 | 1,400 | 5,100 |
Trade, transportation and utilities | 312,400 | 311,700 | 310,700 | 700 | 1,700 |
Information | 19,200 | 19,100 | 19,100 | 100 | 100 |
Financial activities | 108,900 | 108,700 | 108,900 | 200 | 0 |
Professional and business services | 144,600 | 145,400 | 144,200 | -800 | 400 |
Education and health services | 234,800 | 233,300 | 223,100 | 1,500 | 11,700 |
Leisure and hospitality | 141,800 | 140,900 | 133,400 | 900 | 8,400 |
Other services | 56,200 | 56,500 | 55,500 | -300 | 700 |
Government | 259,100 | 258,500 | 255,200 | 600 | 3,900 |
(above data subject to revision) |
|
|
|
|
|
Unemployment Insurance Claims for Iowa | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| % Change from | |
| January | December | January | December | January |
| 2023 | 2022 | 2022 | 2022 | 2022 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Initial claims | 10,105 | 20,138 | 13,052 | -49.8% | -22.6% |
Continued claims |
|
|
|
|
|
Benefit recipients | 26,481 | 17,037 | 28,469 | 55.4% | -7.0% |
Weeks paid | 86,339 | 55,721 | 91,868 | 54.9% | -6.0% |
Amount paid | $42,093,040 | $26,174,948 | $42,014,680 | 60.8% | 0.2% |
Visit www.iowalmi.gov for more information about current and historical data, labor force data, nonfarm employment, hours and earnings, and jobless benefits by county.