Following Low Customer Traffic, IowaWORKS Creston to Close at the End of 2025; Workforce Services Will Continue

Following Low Customer Traffic, IowaWORKS Creston to Close at the End of 2025; Workforce Services Will Continue

• Friday, October 10, 2025
• Press Release

Creston, Iowa - Iowa Workforce Development announced today that the physical IowaWORKSlocation in Creston will close at the end of the year due to sustained low customer traffic. Despite the closure, Creston-area job seekers will continue to have multiple options for accessing IowaWORKSservices in 2026 - including a partner location at Southwestern Community College, other IowaWORKS locations in central and southwest Iowa, or through many of the IowaWORKS services offered virtually.

IowaWORKS staff also will continue to have a regular presence in Creston and surrounding areas to provide efficient and effective services. Career planner staff will be available two days each week at the existing Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) office at Southwestern Community College (1501 W. Townline Street) to support any individuals with unemployment claims or job search activities. Staff also will make regular visits to meet customers at the public libraries in Clarke, Adair, and Decatur counties and at Southwestern Community College in Red Oak. Meanwhile, individuals with disabilities will continue to receive services from the same VR Creston location as they do today.

Remaining Creston staff not involved in the activities described above have been offered the chance to continue work from other IowaWORKS offices in central and western Iowa, with a continued presence in southwest Iowa at Southwestern Community College.

The decision to close IowaWORKSCreston follows a comprehensive review of customer data and operations costs. For two consecutive years, the Creston office averaged fewer than 10 customers a day or 50 customers per week, accounting for less than one percent of the overall traffic at 18 IowaWORKSlocations (of varying sizes) across the state. (Last fiscal year, the IowaWORKSsystem as a whole averaged nearly 14,770 customers per location, with Creston visited by 2,348 people.)

To assist Creston job seekers with workshops and job fairs, the IowaWORKSMobile Workforce Center will have an expanded presence in the area in the coming months. Additional outreach plans will be announced in the weeks ahead. IowaWORKSalso will continue to operate 17 other physical offices across the state.

"While the continued low foot traffic does not justify the cost of a brick-and-mortar office in Creston, our commitment to area workforce services will absolutely remain next year and beyond," said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development. "We will continue to have staff in the area who are able to support individual appointments, and we encourage job seekers to also consider the many ways that services can be received through non-traditional means, which continue to make up a larger share of IowaWORKS services."

Options for Workforce Services

Creston Workforce VR Service Unit
1501 W. Townline Street
Creston, IA 50801
(Additional Details on Local Staff Will Be Announced Later this Year)

IowaWORKS Offices

(Virtual appointments for any office can be made online)

IowaWORKSDes Moines
200 Army Post Road
Des Moines, IA 50315

IowaWORKSDes Moines River Park
525 SW Fifth St
Suite A
Des Moines, IA 50309

IowaWORKSCouncil Bluffs
300 W Broadway, Suite 13
Council Bluffs, IA 51503

Other Virtual Services

IowaWORKSvirtual workshopsare available to help job seekers with resume and interview tips, financial literacy, career planning, and more. Job seekers can register for an account on IowaWORKS.govor connect with a local officeto learn more.

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