Polk County One-Year Industry Employment Change

Out of the 174 industry sectors (4-digit NAICS) with employment figures reported by the BLS in each quarter, 72 reported job growth in the duration of the year and 101 industries reported employment loss in the period.

In Polk County, Iowa, the total number of workers for all sectors has increased by 5,121 jobs from mid-2005 to mid-2006.

Total One-Year Employment Decline in Polk County

Given the industries in the area, the Spectator sports industry witnessed the largest drop in employment, losing a total of 378 jobs. The declines in the Spectator sports industry make up 9.6 percent of the employment lost during the period in Polk County, Iowa.

Top 5 Industries
1. Spectator sports (378 jobs lost)
2. Professional and similar organizations (362 jobs lost)
3. Nondepository credit intermediation (247 jobs lost)
4. Business support services (195 jobs lost)
5. Department stores (192 jobs lost)

Total One-Year Employment Growth in Polk County

Out of the 4-digit NAICS industries, the Depository credit intermediation industry has brought the most jobs with a total of 874 employees finding new jobs in the industry. The employment growth in the Depository credit intermediation industry makes up 10.5 percent of the growth in Polk County.

Top 5 Industries
1. Depository credit intermediation (874 new jobs)
2. Insurance carriers (619 new jobs)
3. Employment services (414 new jobs)
4. Grocery stores (389 new jobs)
5. General freight trucking (373 new jobs)

Polk County One-Year Percentage Decline in Employment

The Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing industry has lost the largest amount of employment in terms of percentage, losing 83 percent of the jobs from 2005 to 2006. These have declined faster than the industry has experienced in the State of Iowa, where the industry felt a loss of 6.6 percent. The losses in the Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing industry in Polk County outpaced the US in terms of percent of decline of industry employment. The US gained 4.9 in percent of jobs in the Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing industry.

Top 5 Industries
1. Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing (83 percent decline)
2. Vending machine operators (55.2 percent decline)
3. Spectator sports (54.7 percent decline)
4. Support activities for animal production (45.8 percent decline)
5. Petroleum merchant wholesalers (33.4 percent decline)

The total number of jobs has increased by 2.2 percent since the 2nd Quarter figures of 2005. This change is greater than percent in the State of Iowa, experiencing a gain of 1.8 percent since 2005 ( 2nd Quarter). The gains in the area were greater than than the gain reported at the US level of 2.0 percent.

Polk County One-Year Percentage Growth in Employment

The Machine shops and threaded product mfg. industry has gone through the largest job growth by percent, increasing by 140.9 percent from the 2005 (Q2) to the 2006 (Q2). This industry in Polk County has added employment faster than the industry has grown in the State of Iowa, where this industry saw a gain of 2.2 percent. The Machine shops and threaded product mfg. industry in Polk County outpaced the nation in terms of industry employment growth . During this period, the nation gained 3.4 percent of the employment in this industry.

Top 5 Industries
1. Machine shops and threaded product mfg. (140.9 percent gain)
2. Electronic shopping and mail-order houses (44.3 percent gain)
3. Performing arts companies (42.3 percent gain)
4. Specialty food stores (35.5 percent gain)
5. Sugar and confectionery product manufacturing (31.3 percent gain)





About: This report is part 1 of 6 in the eCanned.com Industry Analysis Series.

Datasource: U.S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). Private Sector Employment Only.

Income and Poverty in Polk County, Iowa

The areas median household income has declined from the 2000 values (inflation adjusted). The median income has decreased to $51,948, representing a 3.7 percent decline. Polk County, Iowa, when analyzing percentage of decline, ranks 7 of 9 counties in percent of decline for income levels in the State of Iowa. Polk County ranks 525 of 668 counties (or parishes) when comparing total percent of decline in median income in the US.

When put side-by-side with other counties (or parishes) throughout the United States, Polk County, Iowa may be understood as having a rate of poverty among the people, accounting a rate of 7.9 percent of the population with family incomes below the 1999 poverty level. The Black or African American race/ethnicity demographic group, represents the largest rate of poverty with 28.2 percent of the population in 2000 living in poverty. Individuals aged Under 5 years have the most percent of people living in poverty in Polk County, reporting 12.6 percent of this age group in the area living in poverty.

The American Indian and Alaska Native headed households in Polk County had a median income of $45,338, this level was 16 percent less than the median for all households. In Polk County, Iowa White householders had a median household income (in 2005 Dollars) of $55,623 according to the Decennial Census of 2000, which was 3.1 percent greater than the median income in 2000. Black or African American householders reported household income levels that were 42.9 percent less than the overall reported level in 2000, with a reported median of $30,832. Hispanic headed households in Polk County, Iowa , according to the 2000 census, had a median household income of $40,335, which is 25.2 percent less than reported value of the areas total household median income for all households. The Asian headed households reported median household incomes of $52,684. This household income level is 2.4 percent less than the reported median household income, in the area, for all households.

The poverty rate in Polk County, Iowa has declined by 1.4 percent since the amounts published in 2000, moving from 7.9 percent to 6.5 percent.

While the median household income saw a decline in the last five year in Polk County, Iowa, the Race/Ethnicity group that experienced the largest decline in the household income level was the Hispanic category. This category saw a decline of 12.4 percent in the last five years. The Asian Race/Ethnicity category has been least effected by the income level decline in Polk County, encountering a 29.9 percent increase in median income, since the values reported in the 2000 Decennial Census.

Compared to other counties (and parishes) throughout the nation, Polk County accounted a relatively high median income for all households of $53,956 (Adjusted to 2005 Dollars). This figure is 14.4 percent higher than the median income in State of Iowa of $46,179 and the median is 8.9 percent higher than the median household income level in the US of $49,133.

Datasource: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2000 Decennial Census. 2005 American Community Survey.