WEDG director highlights workforce challenges

As the economy is opening up after pandemic-related slowdowns and shutdowns, Washington County is facing some challenges with its workforce.

Mary Audia, executive director of the Washington Economic Development Group (WEDG) presented a report on workforce challenges to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

Audia reported that there are 11,300 people currently in the county’s workforce with 10,800 employed.

“It’s quite strong for Southeast Iowa,” she said.

In early 2020, the workforce was 12,000, with 11,600 employed, Audia said.

Unemployment is trending closer to pre-pandemic levels. The current unemployment rate in the county is 4.2 percent compared to 3.3 percent in early 2020 right before the pandemic struck.

“It really peaked during the pandemic,” Audia said.

She said one of the major challenges for the workforce is child care.

Audia said that WEDG has commissioned a study to look at how child care is affecting the workforce pool.

Another issue, she noted, is transportation.

“Some employers have issues with getting employees to work locations,” Audia said.

She pointed out that the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) has a program that will help map van pools for employees.

ECICOG can help subsidize the cost of van pools, where they would pay a portion of the cost, and riders or employers would pay the remainder.

There is also a growing language barrier with the number of Spanish-speaking people in the county.

She said that Kirkwood Community College offers English as a second language courses.

The college and the Washington Public Library have resources for people wanting to learn Spanish.

Audia reported that many employers in the county are having trouble finding workers.

Some companies, she said, are looking into the TN Visa Program that brings qualified workers from Mexico to work in the United States.

“If we can’t find people right here, we’ve got to find people to work,” Audia said.

Supervisor Jack Seward Jr. said that he believes the federal government’s expanded unemployment benefits are to blame for the shortage of workers.

“The government caused the problem by shutting everything down,” he said. “They try to fix it by paying people not to work.”

Board Chair Richard Young agreed, saying, “If you’re making $16 an hour to stay home, you’re not gong to want to go back if you were making $14 an hour or $12 an hour.”

Audia said that her focus is on helping to find a solution.

“I don’t want to focus on what’s wrong,” she said. “I want to focus on how we can help.”

She added that she expects that, by fall, things will be “coming back into balance.”