Monthly Archives: May 2019

Idaho’s Forest Products Sector: Hopeful for Stable 2019

Forest products, a traditional mainstay sector in Idaho, continues to play an important role in many Idaho communities. Idaho’s forest products sector — logging, wood product mills, paper factories and furniture manufacturing — provided more than 11,700 jobs in 2018. In addition, a few thousand more worked at trucking companies transporting logs, wood products and pulp.

Employment has grown 35 percent from the recession-caused low point of 8,705 in 2010, but it is still 18 percent below its 2006 peak of 14,327 and far below its heyday in the 1970s.

Source: Idaho Department of Labor

The job losses mostly resulted from the impact of technology, which allows a mill to produce twice as much lumber today as it did 25 years ago with the same number of workers and from reduced timber harvests from Forest Service land following changes in policies that occurred in the 1990s. From 1990 to 2000, the timber harvest on federal lands in Idaho fell from 704 million to 149 million board feet.

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Idaho’s April Unemployment Rate Down Slightly to 2.8 Percent

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: May 17, 2019
Information Contact: Craig Shaul (208) 332-3570 ext. 3201 or Karen Jarboe Singletary (208) 332-3570 ext. 3215

Steady Nonfarm Job Growth Continues

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped slightly to 2.8 percent in April, the 17th consecutive month at or below 3 percent.

An additional 1,768 people made themselves available for work between March and April, pushing Idaho’s seasonally adjusted labor force up to 869,968. The number of unemployed decreased by 234 – down nearly one percent to 24,683. Total employment grew by 2,002 to 845,285.

Idaho’s labor force participation rate – the percentage of people age 16 years or older working or looking for work – increased to 63.9 percent.

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JobScape Connects Veterans with Civilian Job Openings

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: May 16, 2019
Information Contact: Jessica Beaver-Nelson, (208) 332-3570
ext. 4415

Veterans can now find Idaho jobs and training opportunities directly related to their military skills and service at labor.idaho.gov/jobscape.

JobScape allows job seekers and others to learn more about an occupation’s hourly and annual wages, worker demand, current employment numbers, annual job openings, and it provides a direct link to current, relevant job listings. Searches can be made statewide or by region.

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Idaho Population Shift from Rural to Urban Counties Continued in 2018

In-Migration Accounted for 73 Percent of Idaho’s Population Increase

Idaho’s population continued to become more urbanized from mid-2017 to mid-2018, with nearly 73 percent of the growth coming from outside the state, newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows. The data provides additional detail at the county level to the January release that showed Idaho’s 2.1 percent population increase tied with Nevada as the fastest-growing state in the nation.

The Boise Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) population grew by 2.9 percent – the eighth fastest among the nation’s 383 other MSAs. The five counties that comprise the Boise MSA – Ada, Boise, Canyon, Gem and Owyhee counties – increased by 20,346 people accounting for 58 percent of the state’s total increase of 35,304. The concentration of more than half of Idaho’s growth in the Boise MSA typifies the continued steady shift toward urbanization of the state’s population from rural to urban counties.

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Job Seekers Invited to Employment and Apprenticeship Fair in McCall

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: May 6, 2019
Information Contact: Julie Heidemann (208) 634-7102, ext. 3090

The Idaho Department of Labor’s McCall local office is holding a Spring Employment and Apprenticeship Fair from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, in the Idaho First Bank Community Room, 475 Deinhard Lane.

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Around Idaho: Economic Activity in April 2019

Information provided in this article 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

  • Post Falls based manufacturer Quest Integration Inc. leased a new facility in the Tedder Office Park and plans to expand its 3D printing operations with the new space. Source: Spokane-Kootenai Journal of Business
  • Washington-based Crawl Space Cleaning Pros has leased warehousing space in Post Falls and is in the process of opening its first Idaho location. The company specializes in environmentally friendly cleanup and insulation of crawl spaces. Source: Spokane-Kootenai Journal of Business
  • After a series of public hearings, the Coeur d’Alene Panning Commission approved plans for a new apartment complex in the city’s Riverstone development. The new complex will feature five-story apartment blocks as part of the city’s recent move toward higher-density construction. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Kootenai County released a proposed update of its comprehensive plan, titled Keeping Kootenai, for community input. In 2010, the county released a strategic plan which consisted of 347 different goals and policy statements, which county officials said were difficult to interpret and implement. The new strategic plan is designed to be simplified and streamlined for ease of implementation. 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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