Northern Idaho
North central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho
NORTHERN IDAHO
Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties
Region
- Labor demand in northern Idaho remained stable in August 2024, with a total of 1,923 unique job postings in the region – a slight decline from 2,043 in July. The unemployment rate rose slightly in August from 4.8% to 4.9%, increasing by 0.8% from August of last year. Overall, total employment has increased slightly over the last year.
Region News
Bonner County
- The Idaho Department of Lands auctioned off eight (now-former) endowment lots on Priest Lake, netting more than $11.4 million, which was more than $500,000 above the appraised value of the lots. Source: Bonner County Daily Bee
Kootenai County
- A new family division land-use ordinance has gone into effect in Kootenai County. The new ordinance contains exemptions which will make it easier for property owners to divide their land to either sell or gift to family members, by allowing living property owners to divide unplotted land without following the county’s formal subdivision procedures. Source: Journal of Business
- Coeur d’Alene based Intermax Networks raised $60 million in private and public funds to extend fiber-optic infrastructure to underserved regional communities. Projects have begun to run fiber to rural communities in northern Idaho including Spirit Lake, Twin Lakes Village and to bring connectivity along Idaho Route 54. Source: Journal of Business
- Construction is beginning on a new interchange between State Highway 53 and Pleasant View Road. The $30 million Idaho Transportation Department project will include a new diamond interchange and additional lanes, which will eliminate several railroad crossings and greatly increase capacity. Preliminary work this autumn is not expected to impact traffic flows, with impacts to drivers beginning in spring 2025. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
- The North Idaho Building Contractor’s Association held its annual Parade of Homes. The event allows regional builders to showcase their state-of-the-art projects with ticketed tours of homes. The event serves to both promote home builders and educate the public on the latest trends and innovations in home design. It also serves major fundraiser for the Building Contractor’s Association. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
Openings
- Treehouse Restaurant (Coeur d’Alene)
- Armory Outpost (Hayden)
- Divine Nails & Spa (Coeur d’Alene)
- Honeysuckle Suites (Hayden)
- La Pinata (Post Falls)
- MAC Physical Therapy (Post Falls)
- Orchid Nails & Spa (Coeur d’Alene)
- Wholesome Plate (Coeur d’Alene)
- Paradigm Owners Rep Services (Coeur d’Alene)
- NorthLife Aesthetics (Coeur d’Alene)
- Bolton Law (Coeur d’Alene)
- Kayu International (Hayden)
Sam.Wolkenhauer@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 696-2353
NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO
Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis and Nez Perce counties
Region news
- Four regional school districts including Culdesac, Highland, Kamiah and Lewiston, received $6 million in grants from the Idaho Career Ready Students Council to expand and upgrade their existing career technical education programs. Source: Idaho Career Ready Students Council
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded $8.7 million to the Nez Perce Tribe to be directed toward energy efficiency improvements in facilities. Upgrades include an addition of electric vehicles, related charging stations and planting over 400,000 trees within five years. Source: Big Country News
- The Boys and Girls Club of the Lewis Clark Valley celebrated the opening of their newly remodeled Schweitzer Clubhouse in Lewison. Source: Lewiston Tribune
- The University of Idaho has taken over operations of the Western Rural Development Center (WRDC) from Utah State University. The WRDC collaborates with land-grant institutions from 13 western states to coordinate research, education and extension programs. The rural development centers work to link research and outreach with communities, farmers and ranchers to address wide ranging issues along with a workforce development focus. Source: Daily Fly
- A gas station owned by Atkinson Distributing exploded in Cardiff in rural Clearwater County, 11. The incident killed two people and critically injured four others. The state fire marshal has initiated an investigation to determine the cause. Source: Lewiston Tribune
Lisa.Grigg@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 696-2256
SOUTHWESTERN IDAHO
Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Valley and Washington counties
Region
Ada County
- Kuna voters must determine the fate of a two-year $3.6 million supplemental levy on the November ballot. If passed, the funding will maintain 37 teachers, provide for six additional teachers and replace some books and technology. Source: Idaho News 6
Boise County
- The Idaho Transportation Board approved $2 million to fund emergency repairs along the Highway 21 corridor between Lowman and Stanley. Pavement and guardrails were either severely damaged or destroyed by the Wapiti Fire that closed the two-lane highway for several weeks. Source: Boise State Public Radio
Canyon County
- Nampa Police Department invested in traffic cameras throughout the city running around-the-clock and costing about $6.1 million. The system stores videos for 14 days and the data from license plate readers is stored for 60 days. Source: KTVB News
Valley County
- Perpetua Mining announced its Stibnite Gold Project is affirmed after receiving word from the U.S. Forest Service. The final Environmental Impact Statement was approved by the federal agency allowing the project to commence. It is estimated there are 4.8 million ounces of gold reserves in the mine at Yellow Pine, along with 148 million pounds of antimony. Source: CBS2 News
Jan.Roeser@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 696-2172
SOUTH CENTRAL IDAHO
Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka and Twin Falls counties
Region
- Teaching assistants, except postsecondary, experienced a 231% jump in job postings year over year in August.
- Educational services occupational job postings doubled year over year in August. Meanwhile, accommodation and food services occupational job postings decreased 33% year over year in August as the economy slows and budgets tighten.
Region news
Blaine County
- The Hailey Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a 20-unit transitional housing building. The $11 million 23,000 square foot building will offer 20 apartments with two floors. The first floor will be configured as a “client services center” where clients can seek counseling services and obtain practical skills — like cooking classes. The project is partly funded by investment from the Idaho Housing and Finance Association. Source: Idaho Mountain Express
Twin Falls County
- With help from the community and grant funding from the Workforce Development Council, a full-day preschool has opened in Castleford that can currently register 18 students ages three to four, with a total capacity of 34 students. Source: Magic Valley Times News
- With $1 million dollars of grant funding awarded by the Idaho Carrer Ready Students Council, the Twin Falls School District can expand their welding and agriculture career technical education programs at Twin Falls High School. Much of the funding is planned for expanding current facilities, as currently there are more students who want to participate than size allows. Source: Magic Valley Times News
Seth.Harrington@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 696-2364
SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO
Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida and Power counties
Region news
- Gov. Brad Little visited the city of Pocatello for a ribbon cutting, inaugurating the new facility called The Village. The Village is a new behavioral health center for juveniles and their families. Little also gave a speech at Idaho State University to showcase the state’s post COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery, the Idaho LAUNCH initiative to provide grants to students and Idaho’s low rate of homelessness. Source: Idaho State Journal
Bannock County
- Pocatello was selected to receive a $16 million dollar grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to improve local parks and assist in community development. Source: KIFI News
Bingham County
- Blackfoot finished its new elementary school, Riverbend Elementary. This was part of a $23.9 million dollar bond approved in 2021. Source: Idaho State Journal
- The East Idaho State Fair was held in Blackfoot. The fair set a new record of 254,209 attendees, surpassing their last 2022 record. Source: Idaho State Journal
Power County
- A wildfire, 17, burned 650 acres in Power County, jumping the interstate and getting close to the Simplot Plant. Though there was an evacuation order, the fire was quickly contained and caused no damage to infrastructure. Another fire, Aug. 27, burned 50 acres and destroyed a potato cellar. Source: KPVI News and Idaho State Journal
Brandon.Duong@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 236-6715
EASTERN IDAHO
Bonneville, Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison and Teton counties
Region news
- In 2023, 770,000 park visitors spent an estimated $44.2 million in local gateway regions while visiting National Park Service lands in Idaho, including Craters of the Moon National Monument and Yellowstone National Park. These expenditures supported a total of 622 jobs, $19 million in labor income, $31.7 million in value added and $59.8 million in economic output into the Idaho economy. Source: National Park Service
- College of Eastern Idaho year-over-year enrollment increased 10.6% from fall 2023. Multiple credit programs are filled to capacity, like health physics, medical assistants and surgical technicians. There are 520 new students in trades programs, an increase of 9% from last fall. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing and electrical apprenticeships are also filled to capacity. The college’s workforce division was the largest in the state, with 14,460 enrollments last year. Source: College of Eastern Idaho
Bonneville County
- Idaho Falls City Council passed a memorandum of understanding for negotiating an agreement with Aalo Holdings Inc. to house a microreactor near a future peaking plant, a natural gas power plant that can help handle occasions of high-power demand. The agreement is to deploy seven commercial Aalo-1 reactors by 2030. Idaho National Laboratory’s MARVEL microreactor is being developed for said projects. Source: Post Register and East Idaho News
Custer County
- The lightning-caused Wapiti wildfire in the Sawtooth and Salmon-Challis National Forests started July 24 and has grown to 125,000 acres at 71% containment with 1,400 personnel. An evacuation order was issued for Stanley and other communities. Source: KIFI and KMVT
Ryan.Whitesides@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 696-2347
This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY25 as part of a Workforce Information grant (40%) and state/nonfederal funds (60%) totaling $885,703.
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