Heath Kellogg Tama County Economic Development Director

A San Fransisco, Calif.-based internet employment company claims Toledo as the second “Worst Place for Jobs in the Hawkeye State.” The company Zippia, bills itself as “The Career Expert.”

The report even drops “Batman and Robin into their Toledo report, perhaps as an additional “hit” word to lure readers to the site as Tama County Economic Development Director Heath Kellogg might suggest.

Kellogg scoffs at the company’s posting. “The lack of research they put into this is laughable,” Kellogg told The Chronicle. “They don’t know 673 jobs were created last year at Iowa Premium alone.”

Kellogg charged the various listings on the site are designed to create buzz in social media. “It’s a strategy thing, used as a tactic to get things on Facebook,” he said. “they’re trolling to get onto social media. Everyone should ignore them.”

The Chronicle last week carried paid advertisements for no less than 15 area jobs. Combine that with the “Help Wanted” signs which are displayed in a number of business windows here, upcoming seasonal farm work and the just announced U.S. 30 Expressway plans and it may be hard to believe the employment picture is that dire in Toledo.

In addition, it is suggested there’s the future potential of jobs when the fate of the closed Iowa Juvenile Home / State Training School for Girls campus in Toledo is determined.

A total of 93 jobs were lost, and there was an authorized 115 positions at IJH when it was shuttered in January, 2104.

The website claims data was gathered from “about 1,010 places in Iowa” and then narrowed the field to those cities with population of over 1,000.

Criteria used to make the determination is listed as unemployment rate, recent job growth, future job growth and median household income.

Here’s Zippia’s take on Toledo:

“Holy Toledo Batman, Toledo ranks as the second worst place to get a job in Iowa.

“And much like Robin, being second isn’t all that bad – while Toledo’s unemployment rate ranks as the eighth worst in the state, it has shown relatively strong recent job growth and prospects for future job growth.

“So there’s definitely a light at the end of the job tunnel.”

The website lists Toledo’s unemployment rate at 5.7 percent and median household income of $35,453.