Idaho’s labor market has changed significantly over the past 10 years. For many years, Idaho employers were generally better at finding workers than other states. However, more recent job vacancy data, such as the time it takes to fill jobs, turnover rates and job postings, show that expectations have shifted. Employers now find it harder to fill open jobs, while workers have more opportunities.

Job vacancy yield

The past few years have seen some of the tightest labor markets in modern history for both Idaho and the nation, making it difficult for many employers to fill open positions. One of the indicators of how effectively employers are able to fill jobs is the monthly vacancy yield, which measures the number of hires each month compared with the number of job openings remaining from the previous month.

As shown in Figure 1 below, Idaho employers have hired about one person for every job vacancy at many points over the past decade, which is considered strong labor demand. Continue reading →