Develop and disseminate essential state and local labor market information (LMI) for a range of customer groups: 1) job seekers 2) businesses employers 3) workforce and labor market intermediaries…

This is a $441,356 Formula Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) under the Employment Service/Wagner-Peyser Funded Activities program (CFDA 17.207). The purpose of this grant is to develop and disseminate essential state and local labor market information (LMI) for a range of customer groups, including job seekers, employers, workforce and career counselors, education and training providers, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

The key activities to be performed under this grant include:

• Populating and maintaining a Workforce Information Database (WID)
• Producing two required public products: employment projections and a statewide economic analysis report
• Ensuring LMI staff are adequately trained

Grantee Workforce Development Center, doing business as Iowa Workforce Development, has wide discretion in producing additional LMI reports and data products to enable data users to make informed decisions about employment, career pathways, training, and work-based learning strategies. The intended beneficiaries are diverse, spanning job seekers, employers, workforce system staff, policymakers, researchers, and other LMI users across Iowa.

Purpose

The purpose of this grant is to develop and disseminate essential state and local labor market information (LMI) for a range of customer groups: 1) job seekers 2) businesses employers 3) workforce and labor market intermediaries such as employment, school, and career counselors, and case managers at american job centers, who help individuals find a job or make career decisions, or engage businesses seeking skilled workers 4) program and service planners at educational institutions and community-based organizations 5) policy makers, including state and local workforce development boards (wdbs) 6) partners, such as economic development entities and human resourceprofessionals and 7) other customers, including recipients of workforce development grants, researchers, commercial data providers, and the media.

Activities

Grantees must populate and maintain a database (the workforce information database or WID), produce two types of public products (employment projections and a statewide economic analysis report), and ensure LMI staff are adequately trained. ETA also encourages grantees to produce other reports and data in addition to those required. Grantees have wide discretion in both the topics and presentation format. These reports should include accurate data, actionable information, and resources that enable data users to make informed decisions about the reemployment, work-based learning, training, and career pathways strategies that lead to rapid reemployment and worker advancement along a continuum of high-demand and higher wage jobs.

Expected outcomes

By performing these duties users of LMI will have sufficientinformation to make informed decisions regarding employment, careers, education, and training.

Intended beneficiaries

Job seekers, employers, staff in american job centers, state and local wdbs, national state local policy makers, students, academic researchers, labor market analysts, and other users of LMI.

Subrecipient activities

A state may use wigs funding to work with a subrecipient to conduct a study or research an LMI topic when a state LMI office does not have sufficient staffing or knowledge to conduct the work themselves.