National News Facts About Greater Des Moines

Greater Des Moines, IA - Monday June 22, 2009

Policom, April 2009
The Des Moines metro area is 13th (of 366) on Policom’s list of economic strength rankings. The highest ranked areas have had rapid, consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period of time.

Moody’s, May 2009
The Des Moines economy will remain in recession until early 2010 but will outperform the U.S. In the long run, the city's low cost of doing business and relatively young and educated population will attract investment. In addition, high per capita income driven by financial services and agriculture-related industries will draw immigrants to fuel above-average growth.

Forbes, April 2009
The Des Moines metro area is third on Forbes list of “Most Livable Cities”. This ranking is based on several indicators including: five-year income growth per household, cost of living, crime data, leisure index and annual unemployment statistics.

CBS Money Watch.com, April 2009
The Des Moines metro area was included in an article on “Job Havens: The Best Small –to-Medium Sized Cities”. The article says “Bigger isn’t always better — these small- to medium-sized cities are particularly well-positioned to weather the economic crisis and provide professional employment.” The article features Greater Des Moines, including economic indicators, a brief synopsis and a picture.

Forbes, April 2009
Forbes ranked Greater Des Moines as the 7th best place for Business and Careers. This ranking is based on multiple factors, including the cost of doing business, education, income, employment and housing indicators. This is the third year the region has been in Forbes top 10.

Bizjournals, March 2009
The Des Moines area is number 10 in a new quality-of-life ranking of the nation’s 124 mid-sized metropolitan areas by BizJournals. The ranking cited the region’s low average work commute of 19.7 minutes, as well as a solid core of young workers, strong rate of home ownership, inventory of large houses and numbers of adults with high school diplomas.

Woods & Poole, March 2009
Greater Des Moines is expected to create 4,500 new jobs, have population growth of 6,200 people and see its gross regional product increase 2.2%in 2010. Finance and insurance are expected to create 700 new jobs and add more than $100 million to the local economy. The construction industry is expected to add 410 new jobs. Overall, the Des Moines economy is projected to expand by more than $400 million in 2010.

Manpower, May 2009
Des Moines is predicted to hire at a moderate pace during the third quarter of 2009. 66% of businesses surveyed expect to maintain current staff levels. 3% of businesses surveyed are not sure of hiring plans.

Iowa Workforce Development, February 2009
The Des Moines metro area’s unemployment rate was 5.2 for February, well below the national figure of 8.5 percent. Des Moines’ unemployment rate fell from 5.3 in January. Iowa’s unemployment rate in February was 4.9 percent.