Advanced Manufacturing Drives Iowa’s Economy
1 Jul 2017
Don’t let our #1 rankings in corn, eggs, and pork production fool you — Iowa is a manufacturing state. Employing more than 200,000 skilled workers, advanced manufacturing is Iowa’s single largest industry.
In fact, 85 percent of the state’s total exports are manufactured goods and nearly 16 percent of U.S. agriculture equipment employees work in Iowa. With all this industry, Iowa has the highest concentration of machinery manufacturing employees in the country, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
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Revisiting Newton, Iowa: How a Small Town’s Economy Grew Stronger After Losing Its Largest Employer
Nov 12 2015You may remember the story of Newton, Iowa—where there is a long history of manufacturing, but where, in 2008, it was uncertain if that would continue. That year, Maytag (a manufacturer of household appliances and Newton’s largest employer) closed its doors, laying off nearly 1,900 workers in a town of only 16,000...
