Blog Posts
Unemployment Insurance Payroll Tax To Remain at Lowest-Possible in 2024
September 15, 2023
Iowa Workforce Development and Governor Kim Reynolds announced in late August that the schedule of unemployment insurance rates used to tax Iowa employers will remain at the lowest possible level allowed by law for 2024. This marks the second consecutive year at the current rates and only the second time Iowa’s rates have been at this... Read More
IVRS Helping Build a Business after Injury
September 15, 2023
When the collapse came, Jack Quick thought his wife was having a stroke. “I couldn’t even hold a coffee cup,” June Quick recalled last month. “I just felt like spaghetti in my whole body.” By the time she was wheeled into surgery, Quick was paralyzed, the apparent victim of a neck injury that shattered during treatment, sparking damage to... Read More
Average Length of Iowa Unemployment Claim is Falling Following RCM
August 16, 2023
Eighteen months after Iowa revamped its approach to unemployment and began providing earlier job search assistance to people seeking unemployment benefits, the average length of an unemployment claim has dropped to its lowest level in more than 55 years. A recent review of Iowa Workforce Development data shows that unemployment claims lasted... Read More
Help Still Available for Iowans Seeking Education Jobs
August 14, 2023
Job-seeking educators and Iowa school administrators with still-open positions are being urged to revisit an IWD website that was set up earlier this year to help Iowans find education jobs. Iowa Workforce Development established a new Education Jobs website in June to provide training and information for individuals impacted by the... Read More
Intermediary Grants Increase Focus on Building Work-based Learning
August 16, 2023
At its heart, work-based learning involves presenting Iowa youths with valuable information about the occupational possibilities available to them. Our hope is that if we give students on the eve of adulthood the opportunity to really learn more about work, they’ll make informed choices and develop a brighter future. Helping students... Read More
Realignment Unites Workforce Agencies at IWD
July 3, 2023
Iowa Workforce Development entered a new era this week, with three new programs joining the agency as part of a broad state government realignment approved by Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature earlier this year. The changes, which took effect July 1, are part of a longstanding effort to consolidate similarly oriented state programs... Read More
Brian Dennis Named Interim Head of IVRS
July 3, 2023
Brian Dennis believes every Iowan has the capacity and the ability to work – those with disabilities may just need a little help to achieve it. “Employment is possible for every person, but that journey will look different for everyone,” Dennis said. “The best way to assist someone on that journey is to provide as much support as possible.”... Read More
Iowa Education Jobs Now Must Be Posted On IowaWORKS
June 23, 2023
Iowa school districts and their would-be employees have begun educating themselves about IowaWORKS.gov after a new state law changed the way education jobs must be advertised in Iowa. Senate File 560, which was recently approved by the Iowa Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds, is an appropriations bill that eliminated the Iowa... Read More
Ottumwa Man Gets Business Off Ground With Help from IVRS
June 23, 2023
Anthony Reyman’s business is expected to hit new heights in the coming year thanks to matching funds from Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services (IVRS). Reyman, a 19-year-old resident of Ottumwa, parlayed his lifelong love of planes into a fulltime vocation after graduating from Indian Hills Community College. Reyman’s Sky Inspired Aerial... Read More
Governor Signs Bill to Create Apprenticeship Office
May 16, 2023
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds this month signed a new law that will establish the Iowa Office of Apprenticeship inside IWD beginning July 1. Once operational, the new office would become the entity chiefly responsible for the registration and certification of Iowa apprenticeships. The transition will move Iowa to become a State Apprenticeship... Read More