Photo: ArtisticAbode / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Iowa’s unemployment rate has been among the lowest in the country for years, and in small towns that means businesses struggle to hire.
Employers in towns like Clarion compete with factories and with larger towns nearby. Child care shortages keep some parents out of the workforce. Housing is a problem too. A new hire may not find a house to buy or rent within 20 miles.
Some employers have started building or buying housing for workers. Others recruit from outside the state or the country.
Iowa’s Empower Rural Iowa initiative and state housing tax credits have helped some towns build new homes, but the gap remains.
Curt Hanneman writes for Clarion News Online.