Jobs are available in Decorah, but where are the people?

Photo courtesy of Oneota Community Food Co-op

Area employment agencies are coming together to host a Community Job Fair at Luther College Thursday afternoon, but will that be enough to fill the ever-increasing list of job openings in Decorah?

Decorah Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kristina Wiltgen says, "We hear from members in every industry that they are challenged with filling jobs. Working with IowaWORKS on a local job fair was a natural step in creating awareness." A community job fair is certainly a step in the right direction, but will it be enough to really make a noticeable difference for employers seeking help?
 
According to IowaWORKS Business Marketing Specialist Katie Bahl, Winneshiek County's average unemployment rate is currently at 3.4%. This is down significantly from the 6.4% peak in 2010, and yet local business owners and managers continue to report difficulty filling vacancies and retaining employees.

Oneota Community Food Co-op General Manager David Lester says, "My observation has been that an improving economy over the last two years has created more opportunities for jobs in our state and in northeast Iowa. This, combined with more tourism in the Decorah area, has put a real stress on service industry employers."

In addition to the increasing demand for employees, Lester notes employees have significantly increased their expectations of employers. "People are really job seeking right now in the service industry, and expect at least $10-$12/hour with benefits as a starting point. At the Co-op in 2017, we had to make some significant changes to our entry level wage, and increase wages within some of our departments to compete. We saw our best employee retention rate in over three years in 2017 because of these changes, but we have to be prepared to pay more for quality employees."

Lester identifies affordable housing as a primary concern for those looking for work in Decorah. "It is next to impossible to own or pay rent in our town if you are only making $10-$12/hour. This expense continues to be a bigger and bigger piece of an employee's budget each year. We will not be able to take advantage of and accommodate the ever-increasing amount of beer and bike tourists in our town if we don't have employees that can afford to live here."

Bahl says IowaWORKS is here to help. "Our staff is constantly fielding inquiries from businesses who are hiring in a variety of fields. We want to partner with them to connect businesses with job seekers. With unemployment being so low, businesses really need to be creative in how they attract and retain their workers."

Bahl invites businesses, veterans, and job seekers to call IowaWorks at 1-866-520-8986 for more information and a variety of resources.