Many Urbandale business managers have found a component to their success to be access to a highly skilled, resourceful and productive labor pool. Many potential employees for Urbandale businesses were educated in top-ranked local and State high schools and colleges.

The laborshed area for Urbandale includes the Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area and offers an excellent source of talent, all within a short commute time. Urbandale’s population of 32,137 in 2004 has increased by more than 1,000 per year in the last several years indicating it is a favorite place to live in central Iowa. The Labor Market Population for the same year is 717,395.

Click here for the 2008 Laborshed Analysis.

To assist new businesses in recruiting employees, the City of Urbandale, the Chamber of Commerce and the Urbandale Development Association work together to find creative ways to help companies hire quality people. The staff at Iowa Workforce Development is ready to support or augment internal HR capabilities. They provide specialized HR project consultation, training, testing, and recruitment. A sampling of services include:

• Internet job listings on www.iowaworks.org
• ON-line HR references
• Customized recruiting and job matching
• HR Resource Center
• Job Fairs
• Interviewer Training
• Job Analysis