Labor Shed Analysis

Laborshed studies are supply-side, labor availability studies. They provide community leaders, economic developers, site selectors and existing or prospective employers a flexible tool for understanding the workforce characteristics of their local labor market.

A Laborshed is defined as the area or region from which an employment center draws its commuting workers. It shows the distribution of these workers regardless of political boundaries. Laborshed studies also address underemployment, availability of labor and likeliness of the employed or not employed to change or accept employment. Other topics covered within a Laborshed analysis include: current and desired occupations, wages, hours worked, job search resources and distance willing to commute to work. For more information regarding survey methodology please visit the Laborshed Survey Methodology page on the Iowa Workforce Development website.