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Idaho’s January unemployment rate down to 2.7%

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 13, 2023
Media Contact: Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or John.Panter@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.7% in January, edging down from the revised 2.8% rate in December.

December 2022’s unemployment rate was revised down from 2.9% due to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual benchmarking process. This realignment of labor market variables is not an indicator of any changes in the state’s economy. (More information about the benchmarking process can be found below.)

January’s labor force – workers who are employed or unemployed but looking for work – increased by 1,593 people (0.2%) to 956,389.

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Apprenticeship Spotlight: Idaho Health Care Association helps women excel through Registered Apprenticeship

More Idahoans than ever before are using Registered Apprenticeship as a path to advance their job opportunities. For women in the workforce, apprenticeships like those managed by Idaho Health Care Association (IHCA) have proven beneficial in transforming their careers and filling gaps in Idaho’s labor market.

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Irish connections in Idaho

A wee bit of St. Patrick’s Day statistics

Every March 17, Ireland venerates the St. Patrick with a public holiday on the anniversary of his death[1]. While not a public holiday in the U.S., it is a day of celebration for many. It is the occasion to have a little ‘craic’ (news/gossip/entertainment) in homage to the Irish with food and drink that, if not Irish, is perhaps green in color, all while wearing green clothes. In the world of statistics and demographics, it’s a reason for another analysis highlighting the local connection  — or lack thereof — to the Emerald Island.

A total of 31.5 million people in the U.S. (9.5%) claim Irish ancestry[2] and outnumber the current Irish population by six to one. This means that every person in Ireland has six people in the U.S. (on average) eager to tell them they’re Irish, too, and to ask if they knew their sweet ancestor born in the County Kerry, County Mayo, County Limerick or (pick your county of Ireland here).

Map-US Irish population

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Multi-employer job fair set for March 22 in Boise

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 15, 2023
Media Contact: Joe.Goitiandia@labor.idaho.gov

Employers from several industries will be looking for workers at a job fair Wednesday, March 22, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Cole & Ustick branch of the Boise Public Library, 7557 W. Ustick Road.

Participating employers include the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Anderson Merchandisers, Boise State University, City of Boise, Guerdon, Idaho Power, Norco, Transportation Security Administration, Treasure Valley YMCA and many more.

Some open positions include bus drivers, maintenance technicians, administrative assistant, engineer, purchasing agent, auditor, design drafter, HVAC specialist, among others.

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AmeriCorps members celebrated for their contributions

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 13, 2023
Media Contact: Renee.Bade@labor.idaho.gov

AmeriCorps members celebrated for their contributions

To celebrate the annual AmeriCorps Week, Serve Idaho, the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism, is recognizing the valuable contributions of AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors who pledge to “get things done” for the nation.

Gov. Brad Little and Secretary of State and AmeriCorps alum Phil McGrane signed a proclamation designating March 12-16 Idaho AmeriCorps Week, and members were honored for their contributions by local organizations. The weeklong celebration also honors the contributions and support of thousands of local organizations that make these programs possible.

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Meet 35+ employers at Labor’s Post Falls hiring event March 15

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 9, 2023
Media Contact: Keeler.Crawford@labor.idaho.gov

Over 100 jobs will be available for job seekers at the Idaho Department of Labor’s Post Falls hiring event Wednesday, March 15. The event is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Post Falls labor office located at 600 N. Thornton St.

Positions vary from carpenters, welders, warehouse workers, HVAC installers, truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, caregivers, customer service supervisors to commercial photographers, graphic designers, landscape maintenance workers and more.

A few employers who will be attending include Aerotek, All Ways Caring Homecare, Darnall Sprinklers, Fred Meyer, the Idaho Division of Veterans Services, North Idaho Dental Personnel, NPL Construction, Serengeti Care and Shabby Fabrics.

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Impacted by foreign trade? Trade Act Assistance can help

Employee layoffs are not uncommon when a U.S. company offshores some of its production or is sold to a firm that does similar work in a foreign country.Photo: shipping containers on barge

That’s when employers and employees can seek out Trade Act Assistance (TAA) support. TAA is a federal program administered by the U.S Department of Labor that provides services and benefits to workers who lose their jobs due to increased imports or because their employer shifted production to certain countries outside of the United States.

Various industries – such as manufacturing – can be affected by a foreign trade issue due to the ebb and flow of product supply. If layoffs must occur as a result, businesses should know these layoffs don’t need to be devastating for their employees.

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Grant, funding initiatives can benefit Idaho citizens

Not all government grant programs are designed for businesses, nonprofits, educational institutions or local governments. Personal government grants are also available for individuals — Idaho citizens, including students, veterans, homeowners and remote workers, among others.

Personal government grants are usually based on supply of available funding and eligibility requirements. These grants are intended to provide a meaningful benefit to the local economy by creating opportunity, making housing more affordable, educating workers and raising wages.

Currently, more jobs exist than there are job seekers looking for work. Even among active job seekers, job seekers may not have the requisite skills to fill these positions. Grant program funding that supports education and training benefit both employers and job seekers.

Personal education grants

With personal education grants, people can enhance their job skills while contributing to a larger supply of candidates for Idaho’s talent pool. Idaho Launch is one such program, providing funds to promote wider accessibility to training for Idahoans — from high school graduates to mid-career workers.

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Report explores new private housing permits authorized in Idaho

As an area’s population grows, so does the demand for housing, which means rising prices and growing incentive for developers to build.

photo: house under construction; apartment building At that point housing developers face a choice of what type of housing to build. Single family units? Multi-unit structures? This decision can be based on several factors — from household preferences and incomes, geographic constraints, as well as government policies such as taxes, subsidies and regulations.

Publicly available data on authorized permits for new privately owned housing units helps to visualize this decision, mainly by organizing permits into size classes (single-unit vs. multi-unit structures) and average permit valuation per unit.

Developers in Idaho, like the nation overall, are biased towards building higher-valued, single-unit structures, though lower-valued, multi-unit structures have been growing in share.

A report delving more deeply into the topic, ” The composition of new private housing permits authorized in Idaho” can be found on the Idaho Department of Labor website.

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This Idaho Department of Labor report is 100% funded by USDOL as part of an Employment and Training Administration award totaling $1,039,383.

Around Idaho: Economic Activity, February 2023

Information provided in these news updates is from professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern
Eastern Idaho

 

NORTHERN IDAHO – Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai & Shoshone counties

Kootenai County

  • Kootenai Health is opening a new urgent care clinic in Coeur d’Alene in partnership with the MultiCare Health System’s Indigo Urgent Care network. In 2022, Kootenai Urgent Care had more than 55,000 visits across its three locations. The new clinic will help distribute the caseload and reduce wait times. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Hayden Canyon Charter school has completed a major expansion project which doubled the available space in the school. The charter school has seen a large increase in applications in recent years and has had student counts limited by available classrooms. The new expansion will increase the capacity by up to 100 incoming first and second grade students, bringing the school’s total capacity up to nearly 600 students. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • North Idaho College (NIC) received a downgrade in its bond ratings from Moody’s Investor Service amid ongoing questions about the college’s accreditation status and governance ambiguity. NIC’s issuer rating was downgraded from A3 to A1, and the revenue bond rating was dropped from A3 to A2. Moody’s cited “a continuing period of significant governance and management dysfunction.” Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Openings – Post Falls

  • North Idaho Urology
  • BoxDrop Mattress and Furniture
  • St Joseph’s Ear, Nose, Throat, and Allergy Clinic
  • Dog House Grooming
  • North Idaho Floors

Coeur d’Alene

  • Blythe Anchor
  • JIK Printshop

Hayden

    • Revival Wellness

Sam.Wolkenhauer@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 457-8789 ext. 4451

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