Local employment assistance available through IowaWORKS
Brian Pibal is a career planner with IowaWORKS in Fort Dodge. He will be offering employment assistance services throughout November, at the public libraries in Manson and Lake City. (Photo by Brian Pibal)
By Cassandra Kyser
Need help finding a job, practicing for an interview, or filling out an application? Brian Pibal, a career planner with IowaWORKS, will be in Calhoun County on the following dates and times:
Thursday, Nov. 13 & 20: Lake City Public Library, 12:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 18 & 25: Manson Public Library, 12:30 - 4:30 p.m.
No appointment or advance registration is required. Just stop by the library and look for Pibal. For those who would prefer to schedule an appointment, contact him ahead of time at brian.pibal@iwd.iowa.gov.
Pibal shared that he can help with many aspects of employment, including:
- Resumes and cover letters
- Job searching and online applications
- Interview practice (mock interviews)
- Career exploration
- Training and education resources
- Reentry or second-chance employment
- Assistance with unemployment claims
- Connections to community services
Pibal offers reassurance for those who feel overwhelmed. “If you're not sure where to start, that's okay — just come in and ask. Whether you're a job seeker or an employer looking for support with hiring or workforce programs, I'm happy to help.”
Pibal works out of IowaWORKS’s Fort Dodge office, which, in addition to Calhoun County, provides support for Hamilton, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Webster, and Wright Counties. IowaWORKS has offices across the state, and serves as “a one-stop shop created to provide universal access to employment services.”
Employment outlooks and statistics
The job market looks especially good for those pursuing careers in healthcare. According to IowaWORKS.gov, the top 10 fastest growing jobs in the Fort Dodge-Webster City Area, which includes Calhoun County, are home health aides; loan officers; personal care aides; financial managers; medical assistants; securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents; agricultural and food science technicians; nonfarm animal caretakers; industrial engineers; and veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers.
Across the state as a whole, the top 10 fastest growing jobs are wind turbine service technicians; nurse practitioners; data scientists; physical therapist assistants; medical and health services managers; occupational therapy assistants; information security analysts; computer and information research scientists; and substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors.
Preliminary data for August 2025 shows that Calhoun County had an unemployment rate of 3.3%, lower than both the state’s unemployment rate of 3.8% and the national rate of 4.3%. “Unemployed” is defined as “individuals who were not working but were able, available, and actively looking for work,” and “individuals who were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, and individuals waiting to report to a new job within 30 days.”