Des Moines’ job picture is looking bright. A new Robert Half forecast shows 12 percent of the area’s chief financial officers expect their company to create new jobs in the next six months. Another 76 percent will be hiring for open positions in their companies. More than half say it’s somewhat or very challenging to find skilled talent for those jobs.
Health insurance will cost Iowa companies on the average more than 7-and-a-half percent more in the upcoming year, according to the latest Lind Benchmark study. One percent of companies in the state say they’ve dropped coverage for workers, but most were firms with less than ten employees.
Iowa employers will play more for unemployment compensation in 2016. Iowa Workforce Development says the estimated average contribution will increase to 1-point-57 percent, up from 1-point-24 percent this year.
Residents in Des Moines, West Des Moines and Ames vote today on who will be the newest members of their school boards. Polls are open til 8 PM.
Governor Branstad has declared September Attendance Awareness Month. The Child and Family Policy Center says Iowa students who are chronically absent are less likely to be proficient in reading by the end of the third grade. The governor pointed out that the share of K-through-12 students who missed 10 percent of school days was in double digits in 78 of 346 school districts in the state.
Iowa’s president of the Board of Regents plan to ask the state legislature for 4-and-a-half million dollars in extra funds for the University of Iowa for next year. The board will discuss the request at its meeting tomorrow.
Iowa’s “sin” taxes are keeping the state’s budget in balance, according to a new federal report. Taxes on alcohol, gaming and tobacco account for 6-point-6 percent of state revenues. The state collected more than a quarter-of-a-billion dollars in tobacco taxes alone last year.
The latest NBC/Marist presidential polls of Iowa voters show Hillary Clinton leading Democrats by double digits, and Donald Trump in the lead for Republicans. Clinton has 48 percent of her party’s support, with Bernie Sanders just behind with 37 percent. Trump’s support is at 29 percent, with Ben Carson slightly trailing at 22 percent.
Athletes from 37 states and 23 nations took part over the weekend in the Des Moines Triathalon at Gray’s Lake and the state capitol. The event replaced the Hy-Vee Triathalon, after the grocery chain decided to cancel the yearly tradition. Cameron Dye and Sarah Haskins both finished more than two minutes ahead of their competitors to claim victory.
