OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Last week, members of the Ottumwa community received data from the latest Laborshed Analysis conducted in our area.

The analysis is conducted every two years and studies our workforce -- how many people are coming into the community to work, how many are traveling outside the community to work and how many are employed, unemployed and underemployed.

The results are invaluable to groups like the Ottumwa Economic Development Corporation and Indian Hills Community College, as it shows the strengths and weaknesses of our labor force, which is one of the first things a company will look at when they're considering moving or opening a business in Ottumwa.

One of the biggest standouts of the analysis showed that, though Ottumwa's population sits around 25,000-26,000, our laborshed is at 85,000-86,000, which means many are traveling into the county to work.

However, there is still that population that is underemployed and can be utilized.

"The underemployed folks are folks that are willing to go back to school, are willing to improve their job skill opportunities, so they can go on out and get a higher paying job, maybe a job with some different benefits whether it be better health care, whether it be more flexible for them and their families," said David Barajas, Executive Director of the Ottumwa Economic Development Corporation.  So I think just the idea that of our workforce here knowing and understanding that we do have a significant number of underemployed people that are willing to go on our there, improve themselves so that maybe they can move onto another job, I think that in itself is a statistic that's important to talk about."

The data from the Laborshed Analysis is available to the public and will be put on the OEDC's website by the end of the week.