As the largest cities in North Iowa, Mason City and Clear Lake serve as the regional hub for business, drawing a labor pool from 15 surrounding counties and creating one of the state’s largest laborshed regions at more than 140,000. This provides employers with a metropolitan-sized labor force, as well as workers that are rated highly for dependability and work ethic by existing employers.
A high-quality, strong and dependable workforce is vital to the economy, and North Iowa is uniquely situated to provide one of the best. The Chamber understands employers must have access to a quality, well-trained workforce, with an emphasis on worker attraction/retention, worker training/new skills, and career and technical education. A strong partnership among the North Iowa Corridor EDC, IowaWORKS North Iowa, and North Iowa Area Community College works to ensure that customized training and employee-hiring opportunities are available to area employers.