Statewide Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds plans to ask the Iowa legislature to approve new job-search requirements for Iowans who qualify for unemployment benefits.
Reynolds is proposing that Iowans receiving unemployment checks be required to check in weekly with a state worker about job openings in their area and — with the exception of union members — unemployed Iowans will have to prove they’ve applied for at least four jobs.
Reynolds says some of the changes will require legislative approval. Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says her agency needs a re-set since Iowa is in the midst of a workforce shortage.
Iowa businesses have listed more than 86-thousand job openings on the agency’s website. Townsend says nearly 68-thousand Iowans are receiving unemployment benefits today. Townsend plans to hire 18 people to counsel unemployed Iowans and she will seek to redefine what qualifies as work search activities that are required of Iowans receiving jobless benefits.
Townsend says the weekly check-ins would be able to happen on-line or in-person at 18 Iowa Workforce Development locations around the state. Reynolds and Townsend made the announcement Wednesday morning during a news conference staged on the manufacturing floor of an Adel business. Senator Nate Boulton, the top Democrat on the Senate Labor Committee, says the state should focus on helping small businesses and expanding child care rather than having the government assign Iowans to specific jobs.
