Iowa Workforce Development will close fifteen of its 72 offices around the state. Spokeswoman Kerry Koonce says they’re already starting. Some of the offices will begin closing before the first of June, some not until around August first depending on things like the dates local leases end.
The offices to be closed include Forest City, Pocahontas, Clarion, Grinnell, Independence, Jefferson, Guthrie Center, Vinton, Monticello, Knoxville, LeMars, Missouri Valley, Corning, Chariton, and Sheldon. She says traffic was an issue, and some will close because of retirements or because they were only part-time “itinerant” offices open two or three days a week.
Koonce says people in affected areas like Grinnell should still be able to find the services they need She says that area still has offices available including Newton and Marshalltown where services will still be provided.
All the agency’s services, from searching for jobs or posting available positions to downloading forms and filing for unemployment claims can all be done on-line, 24 hours every day, at their website, “Iowa Workforce dot-org.”
Koonce says the budget’s a big factor in the closings and the agency was already short-funded from years of cutbacks before a recent scandal broke about large salaries paid to a central Iowa job-training program.
Related web sites:
Iowa Workforce Development website