Idaho Department of Labor Releases Service Plan for Meridian and McCall Areas

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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Oct. 23, 2019
Information Contact: Georgia Smith, (208) 332-3570 ext. 2102

The Idaho Department of Labor has implemented its new service model in the Meridian and McCall areas, providing direct mobile services to eight communities.

Labor staff will offer walk-in hours and appointment times in these communities with the same services staff have traditionally provided. Those include resume writing, applying for jobs, filing for unemployment insurance benefits, mock interviews, connections to community resources, job training assistance and more. Staff will also continue to serve businesses with listing open jobs, collecting applications, connecting to resources and assisting with recruitment.

Jani Revier, Labor director, said many citizens who have not traditionally had easy access to in-person Labor services should be better served by this model.

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Idaho Job Corps Program to Begin Offering Services for Students

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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Oct. 22, 2019
Information Contact: Tina Polishchuk, (208) 442-4520

The Idaho Job Corps program will begin offering services for its first group of students today, Oct. 22, at the Centennial Job Corps facility, located in Nampa.

The program is funded by a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, awarded to the Idaho Department of Labor, to serve income-eligible youth age 16-24 by connecting them to training and workplace opportunities.

“This demonstration project between the Department of Labor and the state of Idaho is intended to meet the specific workforce needs of the state and take Job Corps into the future,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training John Pallasch. “Welcoming students to their program marks an important moment in this new endeavor, and the Department of Labor is rooting for the success of each and every student who arrives to take control of his or her future.”

Students could be enrolled in the program 3-24 months, depending on their career trajectory, and the goal of the program is to place every student into a sustainable job by the time they graduate from the program.

Youth will also have the opportunity to complete their high school diploma and/or GED while enrolled in the program.

In addition, Idaho Job Corps will provide a variety of social services for students to remove barriers that get in the way of student success. These will include health care services, wellness training, counseling and life skills training, access to transportation, assistance with tuition and other services, free to the student.

“The Idaho Job Corps program connects Idaho students with Idaho jobs,” Gov. Brad Little said. “The program is one of our greatest and most effective resources for strengthening a talent pipeline that promises to improve student lives while creating a strong workforce to benefit our economy.”

The Nampa Centennial facility will serve 150 students each year (50 residential and 100 non-residential), with services for residential students beginning in 2020. The College of Western Idaho (CWI) is working with the Idaho Job Corps program to provide workforce development training and technical courses for Idaho’s high-growth occupations, including opportunities in certified nursing assistants, carpentry, business accounting, as well as apprenticeships in plumbing, HVAC and electrical fields, among others.

“We are excited about this venture,” said CWI Board of Trustee Chair, C.A. “Skip”Smyser. “Connecting students to the skills they need to be successful through education is our mission, and this will benefit employers and communities throughout our area.”

Informational orientations are available at the Centennial Job Corps Center, located at 3201 Ridgecrest Drive, Nampa at 2 p.m. Wednesdays. Attendees will learn about the program, how to apply as well as tour the center.

In years two and three of the program, Labor will partner with other community colleges to enroll 50 non-residential students each in Twin Falls, Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene.

To learn more about Idaho Job Corps, call (208) 442-4500 or visit the Labor website.

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Idaho’s September Unemployment Unchanged at 2.9 Percent

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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Oct. 18, 2019
Information Contact: Craig Shaul (208) 332-3570 ext. 3201 or Karen Jarboe Singletary (208) 332-3570 ext. 3215

Nonfarm Job Growth Second Highest in the Nation

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 2.9 percent in September for the third consecutive month.

An additional 2,906 people made themselves available for work in September, pushing Idaho’s seasonally adjusted labor force up to 882,214. The number of unemployed increased by 136 to 25,626. Total employment grew by 2,770 to 856,588.

Idaho’s labor force participation rate – the percentage of people age 16 years or older working or looking for work – has been slowly increasing since June 2019 and reached 64.1 percent in September.

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Federal Training Funds Available for Former Connexions Loyalty Workers

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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Oct. 8, 2019
Information Contact: Georgia Smith, (208) 332-3570 ext. 2102

Connexions Loyalty employees who lost their jobs when the Boise facility closed earlier this year can now apply for benefits and job search services through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Act.

Approximately 175 Connexions Loyalty employees as well as on-site leased workers from Aerotek lost their jobs with the closure of Connexions Loyalty in Boise. Workers were notified in September 2018 that the company would be closing the location no later than February 2019. This triggered the filing of a Trade Act petition with the U.S. Department of Labor, which investigated the matter and determined the workers were eligible for assistance under the Act.

Affected workers should contact their local Idaho Department of Labor office for more information.

The Trade Act is a federally funded program that aids U.S. workers who have lost, or may lose, their jobs due to foreign trade. The program seeks to provide reemployment assistance through a variety of activities including out-of-area job search, relocation assistance, multiple training options and other resources.

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Around Idaho: Economic Activity in September 2019

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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

Benewah County

  • Valley Vista Care, an assisted-living and nursing facility in St. Maries, has begun a $2.5 million expansion and improvement project. The work will upgrade the common areas of the facility as well as adding rooms for more residents and expanding the physical therapy facilities. Source: Journal of Business

Kootenai County

  • The city of Coeur d’Alene is considering forming an urban renewal district to create a health corridor around the Kootenai Health campus. A coalition including the city, Kootenai Health, and Ignite CDA (the city development corporation) is exploring ways an urban renewal district could be used to make infrastructure improvements to support a dense health care-centric development. Source: Journal of Business
  • Olson Saw Technology, a Pennsylvania based manufacturer, has acquired space in Post Falls for a new distribution center. The company produces machine knives and saw blades and anticipates becoming operational in Post Falls by the end of the year. Source: Journal of Business
  • Construction is underway on a new elementary school in Post Falls. The school, which has yet to be named, is scheduled for completion in time for the 2020 school year and will have an initial attendance of around 500 students. Source: Journal of Business
  • The Post Falls and Lakeland school districts have approved emergency levies to deal with growing enrollments. Virtually all schools in both districts have grown from last year, as Kootenai County’s population continues to grow. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

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

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Idaho Department of Labor Releases Magic Valley Area Service Plan

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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Oct. 7, 2019
Information Contact: Georgia Smith, (208) 332-3570 ext. 2102

The Idaho Department of Labor has implemented its new service model in the Magic Valley area, providing direct mobile services to five communities.

Labor staff will offer walk-in hours and appointment times in all five communities with the same services staff have traditionally provided. Those include resume writing, applying for jobs, filing for unemployment insurance benefits, mock interviews, connections to community resources, job training assistance and more. Staff will also continue to serve businesses with listing open jobs, collecting applications, connecting to resources and assisting with recruitment.

Jani Revier, Labor director, said many rural citizens who have not traditionally had easy access to in-person Labor services should be better served by this model.

“Our new model is a positive development for scores of rural Idahoans who have faced burdensome travel requirements to meet with Idaho Department of Labor personnel in person,” Revier said. “We are now offering face-to-face services in more cities and towns than ever before thanks to the generosity of community organizations kindly offering space, and we will continue to provide service opportunities to all corners of the state.”

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More than 500 Job Openings Available at Post Falls Hiring Event

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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Oct. 3, 2019
Information Contact: Stacey Hanlon, (208) 457-8789 ext. 3947

Sixty employers from northern Idaho and Spokane are set to attend the fall hiring event on Wednesday, Oct. 9, in Post Falls, hosted by the Idaho Department of Labor.

Employers will be recruiting for more than 500 immediate openings with full-time, part-time and seasonal work available across multiple industries.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Real Life Ministries, 1866 N Cecil Road in Post Falls.

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Idaho Department of Labor Releases Bonners Ferry Area Service Plan

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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Oct. 2, 2019
Information Contact: Darlene Carnopis, (208) 332-3570 ext. 3439

The Idaho Department of Labor has implemented its new service model in the Bonners Ferry area, providing direct mobile services to Bonners Ferry, Moyie Springs and Naples.

Labor staff will offer walk-in hours and appointment times in all three communities with the same services staff have traditionally provided. Those include resume writing, applying for jobs, filing for unemployment insurance benefits, mock interviews, connections to community resources, job training assistance and more. Staff will also continue to serve businesses with listing open jobs, collecting applications, connecting to resources and assisting with recruitment.

Jani Revier, Labor director, said many rural citizens who have not traditionally had easy access to in-person Labor services should be better served by this model.

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How Similar is Idaho’s Economy to Other States?

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For economic researchers and policymakers, mapping and analyzing the level of similarity between states and regions can be a useful exercise. By identifying the regions with close similarities, decision makers can help narrow their search for successful policies to use in their own communities. This article examines a common methodology for comparing statistical similarities, evaluates how similar Idaho’s economy is to that of the other 49 states and analyzes the overall usefulness of the results.

Using a variation of a common statistical method called a nearest neighbor analysis allows researchers to take a set of observations (in this case, the 50 states) and rank them in order of similarity. For this analysis, the method analyzes the economic composition of each state, based on the employment in each state across 285 different industries. Then the mix of industries in each state is compared according to the percentage of that state’s employment concentrated in that industry.

For example, in Idaho, 33 industry categories had no employees at all in 2018, including pipeline transportation and coal mining. At the other end of the spectrum, Idaho’s largest industry – restaurants – employed more than 52,000 people to make up more than 8 percent of Idaho’s total employment.

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Idaho Department of Labor Releases Soda Springs and Blackfoot Area Service Plan

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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Sept. 27, 2019
Information Contact: Georgia Smith, (208) 332-3570 ext. 2102

The Idaho Department of Labor has implemented its new service model in the Soda Springs and Blackfoot areas, providing direct mobile services to eight communities.

Labor staff will offer walk-in hours and appointment times in all eight communities with the same services staff have traditionally provided. Those include resume writing, applying for jobs, filing for unemployment insurance benefits, mock interviews, connections to community resources, job training assistance and more. Staff will also continue to serve businesses with listing open jobs, collecting applications, connecting to resources and assisting with recruitment.

Jani Revier, Labor director, said many rural citizens who have not traditionally had easy access to in-person Labor services should be better served by this model.

Continue reading →