Iowa Workforce Development has been recognized with the 2024 Full Employment Award from the American Institute for Full Employment, marking the second time the state agency has received the honor in recent years.
The national award, given annually, highlights states or individuals demonstrating excellence in helping job seekers return to work. Iowa previously won in 2022.
The recognition comes amid national labor shortages, low workforce participation rates and rising unemployment claim durations. Despite these challenges, Iowa has managed to cut the average length of an unemployment claim by four weeks – dropping from 13 weeks to nine – since launching its Reemployment Case Management program in January 2022.
“Iowa’s innovation represents a significant breakthrough that’s helping unemployed Iowans get back on their feet faster,” AIFE President John Courtney said in a release. “It also gives a preview of the nationwide benefits that will be reaped when Congress continues its intended expansion of … support for laid-off workers.”
The RCM program pairs unemployed Iowans with career planners from the first week of their claims, providing personalized job search assistance and connections to necessary resources. These meetings, conducted both virtually and in person, aim to expedite reemployment and reduce the strain on the state’s unemployment system. According to IWD estimates, the initiative has saved Iowa’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund more than $350 million over three years by shortening claim durations.
At the end of 2024, Iowa ranked third in the nation for the shortest average unemployment claim duration and tenth in the lowest percentage of claimants who exhausted their benefits before finding work, according to AIFE.
Beth Townsend, executive director of Iowa Workforce Development, welcomed the recognition and credited the agency’s team for its success.
“We appreciate this award from AIFE and the recognition of the hard work our team members have undertaken to look for every possible way to make the program work even better,” Ms. Townsend said. “Iowa’s future depends on making sure our employers have a sufficient workforce and that Iowans looking for a job can find one as quickly as possible.”
Founded in 1994, the American Institute for Full Employment is a nonprofit consulting and research organization focused on advancing best practices in workforce development, unemployment and welfare programs. The group, comprised of former state agency executives, has contributed to policy design and implementation efforts in more than 25 states.
For more information on Iowa’s recognition and past award recipients, visit the AIFE website.
