July 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States and the 136th anniversary of Idaho’s statehood. As the 43rd state admitted to the union in 1890, Idaho is a relatively young entrant, but its first few decades of statehood have proven to be pivotal cornerstones for the current labor market trends of the 2020s.
Idaho’s formation as an agricultural state
The federal passage of the 1894 Carey Act allowed arid western states like Idaho to reclaim up to one million acres of what was previously deemed as unusable desert federal land. After reclamation, states could then grant the productive land to settlers in up to 160-acre parcels.[1]
Most Carey Act projects were funded between 1905-1923. Idaho was considered one of the program’s primary beneficiaries as it far exceeded the initial one million acres. By 1920, approximately one-fourth of Idaho’s 2.5 million irrigated acres were a direct result of Carey Act projects.[2]
During the same period, Idaho’s resident population was growing incredibly fast as the prospect of low-cost fertile land ownership increased in-migration. Between 1890-1930, the U.S. population nearly doubled while Idaho’s increased by over four times, going from 84,000 to 445,000.[3]
Figure 1 below uses an index to compare the rate of Idaho’s population increase with the rise in the state’s irrigated farm acres and the U.S.’s population from 1890-1930.
Figure 1. U.S. and Idaho population, irrigated farm acre index (indexed to 1890, 1890=100), 1890-1930
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, “1930 Census: Volume 1. Population, Number and Distribution of Inhabitants.” U.S. Census Bureau, “Irrigation of agricultural lands: Summary for the United States 1929 and 1930.”
Idaho’s natural resources and technological shifts shaped primary jobs in the 1920s
The end of World War I in late 1918 resulted in drastic changes to export demand and agricultural commodity prices for Idaho’s natural resource producers. Water became very important to the state’s labor economy with nearly half (47%) of its employed workers in the 1920 U.S. Census classified within agricultural, forestry and animal husbandry occupations.[4] Increased access to water provided higher yields and agricultural opportunity while water limitations resulted in sometimes painful decisions for the state’s agrarian economy.
Typically, these jobs were dependent on maximizing daylight and working long hours of significant physical labor to meet market demand. While they had highly predictable seasonality in employment and layoffs, the reliance on external factors such as weather patterns and crop yields made the peaks and troughs of national unemployment rate cycles highly volatile. Unemployment rate estimates for the nation during 1920-1929 averaged around 5%, ranging from a low of less than 2% in 1926 to a high exceeding 11% during the agricultural depression of 1921.[5]
While the U.S. unemployment rate was recorded as quite volatile in this period, unemployment data for individual states was not published until 1976. However, Idaho’s relatively small, highly rural population and its heavy reliance on natural resource industries likely made its labor patterns more volatile than the national average. While nearly one out of every three (30%) employed persons in the U.S. worked in natural resource occupations in 1920, Idaho’s concentration was significantly higher at 51% of statewide jobs.
Idaho’s agricultural employment in the 1920s was also affected by sweeping technological advancement. Large regional irrigation projects began operation and water right discussions became paramount with the significant rise in both population and farm acreage. Tractors also began replacing horses, with approximately 190 horses per tractor in 1920 dropping to 46 horses per tractor by 1930. The most recent data in 2022 reports just slightly over one horse per tractor on Idaho’s farms.
Figure 2. Horses and tractors on Idaho farms, 1910-1959
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, “U.S. Census of Agriculture, 1910-1959.”
The simultaneous roll-out of electrification and machinery — especially in the state’s rural areas — significantly changed working patterns and resulted in large-scale efficiency gains. Through these innovations, fewer laborers were needed to work on farms and statewide employment began a long-term shift away from agricultural production toward manufacturing and professional services.
Figure 3 below shows the percentage of Idaho farms utilizing key technological advancements in the 1920s compared with the 1930s.
Figure 3. Percent share of Idaho farms by amenity utilization, 1920-1930
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, “U.S. Census of Agriculture, 1930.”
By 1930, agriculture comprised 40% of Idaho’s occupational employment (compared with 21% for the U.S.). This share continued to decline at a rapid pace through the next 100 years as technology and machinery replaced both human and horse power. This transition allowed statewide employment to be more heavily focused in service-providing industries.
One hundred years later in the 2020s, access to water continues to be an integral component of Idaho’s prosperity as agribusiness operations are estimated to contribute over 15% of Idaho’s total annual economic output.[6] Despite only accounting for 1% of total direct employment, agriculture remains one of Idaho’s primary economic sectors. In contrast, service occupations have increased from 33% of jobs in 1920 to over 80% in 2024 (see Figure 4).
Figure 4. Agricultural and service occupations as a share of total Idaho employment, 1910-2024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Decennial Census, 1910-1960” and “American Community Survey, 2024.”
Events of the 1920s defined today’s professional roles – especially for women
The 1920s defined the framework for some of the most common professional occupations today. The extreme labor shortage during World War I offered a foothold for employees to negotiate minimum wages, shorter weekly hours and better overall working conditions.
Idaho had nearly eight times as many employed men as women in 1920. This was the highest ratio of any U.S. state, just ahead of Wyoming (7.7 males per female), Nevada (7.7) and West Virginia (7.6). This disparity — which was essentially double the U.S. average of 3.9 employed males per female — could be explained by the high concentration of hard labor jobs in Idaho during this time.
The 1920 passage of the 19th amendment, Women’s Right to Vote, provided enhanced opportunities for women to participate in the state’s labor market more broadly. By 1930, Idaho’s ratio had dropped closer to six times as many men employed than women and has continued to decline to near parity with the most recently published data in 2024, as shown in Figure 5 below.
Figure 5. Ratio of employed males per female in the U.S. and Idaho, 1910-2024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Decennial Census, 1910-1960” and “American Community Survey, 2024.”
Nearly seven out of 10 (69%) employed women in Idaho worked in professional services (primarily teachers and nurses), domestic and personal services or clerical occupations in 1920. By 1930, women employed in professional service occupations outnumbered men for the first time and comprised 26% of total female employment in Idaho. Women also continued to be largely represented within the nursing occupation, increasing from 96% of the nation’s trained nurses to 98% in 1930.
Following the increased demand for skilled nurses during World War I, the 1920 decennial census attempted to create separate occupational classifications for identifying trained and untrained nursing staff. For Idaho, this was the first census to regulate and standardize nursing practices and education since the Idaho Board of Nursing was established in 1911. Previously, nursing was mainly taught through apprenticeships in hospitals.
Professional law services were also formally recognized in the 1920s. The Idaho State Bar was established in 1925 through legislative action, requiring attorneys practicing law in the state to be licensed for the first time.[7] In 1925, Idaho had 629 licensed attorneys, or approximately 14 per every 10,000 residents. As of 2025, Idaho State Bar membership included 7,409 attorneys, or approximately 36 per 10,000 residents.[8]
External labor market factors influencing Idaho’s labor market in the 1920s and 2020s
Idaho’s labor markets in both the 1920s and 2020s demonstrate that change is constant and adaptation is required. Although these periods are a century apart, parallels can be drawn for how occupational demand is driven both by changing consumer behavior as well as technological disruptions.
For the 1920s, the labor market shifted drastically from being highly dependent on physical labor to one that adopted mechanical horsepower. Significant gaps in opportunity occurred for those residents who had access to the new technology compared to those who did not.
This transition simultaneously created and destroyed occupations at alarming rates. The pace was so quick that renowned economist John Maynard Keynes was convinced the labor market would not be able to adapt to these changes unless the work week was reduced to 15 hours.[9]
The Great Depression of the 1930s made this forecast look reasonably accurate as the short labor supply during World War I quickly ballooned into an unprecedented labor surplus. However, this doomsday view was ironically followed by one of the strongest economic and sustained job growth periods the U.S. had ever experienced in the 1940s.
One hundred years later, the same themes of constant change are present within Idaho’s evolving labor market. Occupations are being created and modified by forces that couldn’t have been predicted 10 years earlier. This has created pain for employers unable to fill positions in a timely manner and for employees struggling to determine what job skills are most relevant moving forward.
In the 2020s, the Covid-19 pandemic once again forced labor market participants to rethink how and where work is done. It altered the perception of remote work and created chaos for international product demand and logistical supply chains. This major global event shifted the demand for labor and likely changed the long-term growth trajectory of many industries in ways that are still unwinding, just as World War I and the Spanish Flu did in 1918.
Along with needing to rebound from the pandemic, Idaho’s labor market during the first half of the 2020s has been shaped by historically low unemployment rates offset by elevated employer demand. The fast population growth into the state over the most recent five years has vastly increased the need for services, infrastructure and housing.
These labor market strains are simultaneously occurring at a time when the relatively large baby-boomer generation is looking to retire and birth rates continue to fall. Additionally, the brisk rate of artificial intelligence (AI) growth and adoption is acting as a significant disruptor where the true effects on the labor market remain unknown.
Just like the 1920s, the labor market of the 2020s is shaped by competing forces of human capital, employer profitability and technological displacement. Developing AI and remote work trends may or may not structurally change the employee-employer relationship as drastically as mechanical engines and electricity did in the 1920s, but they are potentially important labor market catalysts for Idaho’s next century of employment.
For more information, watch the department’s 100 years of Idaho employment webinar.
Lisa.Grigg@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
208-696-2256
Sources
[1] “Water Conveyance Systems in the West: Context and Evaluation Guidance,” U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, accessed June 12, 2026. https://history.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/5865-BOR-Wtr-Control-Structures-Context-SEPTFINAL.pdf
[2] Guy Ervin, “Irrigation under the provisions of the Carey Act,” United States Department of Agriculture Circular 121, Feb 1919, https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/401222?ln=en&v=pdf
[3] “1930 Census: Volume 1. Population, Number and Distribution of Inhabitants,” U.S. Census Bureau, accessed June 12, 2026. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1931/dec/1930a-vol-01-population.html
[4] “1920 Decennial Census: Volume 4, Chapter VII – Males and Females in Selected Occupations,” U.S. Census Bureau, accessed May 6, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1920/volume-4/41084484v4ch09.pdf
[5] “The Measurement and Behavior of Unemployment, 1957: Annual Estimates of Unemployment in the United States, 1900-1954,” National Bureau of Economic Research. Accessed June 4, 2026. https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c2644/c2644.pdf
[6] University of Idaho Extension, “Economic Contribution of Idaho Agribusiness 2025.” Accessed July 13, 2026. https://content-hub.uidaho.edu/api/public/content/856346a189c64a479148aa0500e651ae?v=0e25690f
[7] Diane Minnich, “The Idaho State Bar and Idaho Law Foundation: A Brief History,” The Advocate, August 2025. https://isb.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/Anniversary-Article-Minnich-Brief-History.pdf
[8] Idaho State Bar, “The past 100 years with the Idaho State Bar,” accessed on June 9, 2026. https://isb.idaho.gov/anniversary/
[9] John Maynard Keynes, “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren.” 1930. http://www.econ.yale.edu/smith/econ116a/keynes1.pdf
This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY26 as part of a Workforce Information grant (41%) and state/nonfederal funds (59%) totaling $860,595.
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