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.
Figure 1. Job vacancy yield rate, seasonally adjusted, 2015-2025, Idaho and U.S.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
Vacancy yield tends to rise when there are plenty of workers available, like during slow economic periods, and falls when the job market becomes tight and employers must compete more intentionally for talent.
On a national level, the lowest vacancy yield rate over the past decade appeared in 2022 at 0.57 hires for every vacancy, as job openings grew faster than hires. Over the same time, the rate in Idaho has typically stayed above the national average. However, near the end of 2024, it fell to its lowest level on record at 0.6 hires for every job vacancy, meaning employers were having a tougher time than ever finding workers.
Inverse vacancy yield rate
Another way to understand hiring conditions is by looking at how many months it takes to fill a job, which can be found by flipping the vacancy yield rate and is known as the inverse vacancy yield rate.
As shown in Figure 2 below, employers in Idaho and the U.S. filled most jobs in about a month or less in the earlier part of the decade. But over time, that number slowly increased. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, employers were starting to notice that hiring was becoming more challenging.
When the pandemic hit, hiring times became inconsistent nationally and in the state. At first, hiring sped up as businesses reopened and made quick staffing moves to compensate for labor turnover (marked by the steep dip in 2020). Then, hiring suddenly slowed and worker shortages took hold, causing the yield rates to reach record highs from 2021-2024, with the U.S.’s rate peaking in May 2022 at 1.7 months and Idaho peaking in November 2023, also around 1.7 months.
By 2025, the time it took to hire workers returned to normalized levels, but Idaho and the nation still showed signs of labor market strain.[1]
Figure 2. Inverse vacancy yield rate, seasonally adjusted, January 2015-2025, Idaho and U.S.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
Industry hiring effects
Some industries across the U.S. rarely struggle to hire. Construction and Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction, for example, tend to fill positions quickly and show strong hiring momentum year after year.
Other industries like Healthcare and Social Assistance, Retail Trade, Transportation and Warehousing, Professional and Business Services and Finance and Insurance often face real challenges finding workers. Healthcare and Finance in particular have experienced long-term hiring stress as they rely on specialized skills and training, and the supply of qualified workers can’t always keep up with demand.
The pandemic pushed many of the country’s industries into crisis-level hiring difficulty, especially those involving customer-facing work. Restaurants, hotels, retail stores and transportation businesses all faced major increases in job openings that they couldn’t easily fill. Meanwhile, some industries that normally struggle, like Accommodation and Food Services, were able to bounce back quickly because of constant hiring, as well as high worker mobility and turnover.
Over the past decade, Idaho’s industry hiring trends have had the following patterns:
- Restaurants and hotels have continued to hire more people than any other sector, despite experiencing ups and downs during the pandemic.
- Construction has grown dramatically thanks to Idaho’s strong population growth and housing demand.
- Healthcare has continued to expand as the state grows and ages.
- Retail hiring has decreased as online shopping has become more common.
- Manufacturing has seen both expansion and contraction depending on economic conditions and supply chains.
- Transportation has experienced a spike due to COVID‑19 increasing delivery needs, then has leveled off.
Turnover
Turnover is the share of newly hired positions due to a recent separation and measures the frequency a job ends and is replaced. Worker turnover is an important metric for labor demand as it represents the majority of hiring activity as most hires aren’t made for an entirely new position.
Periods of high turnover can correspond to periods of high labor demand and a tight labor market. When turnover is high, employees are more comfortable separating to pursue higher paying positions. When turnover is low, hiring needs are met and employers have more leverage.
Turnover in Idaho was stable before the pandemic at around 10% from 2015-2020. As the pandemic wound down and people began to return to work, turnover increased to an 11% rate in 2021 and 2022.
Post-pandemic, industries resuming activity put pressure on the labor market following record retirements. The scramble to replace these positions meant that demand for workers outstripped supply. This created the perfect conditions for the tight labor market to follow.
The latest 2024 turnover data indicates turnover levels returning to normal in Idaho. Starting in 2023, the labor market began to stabilize. Turnover fell to 10.1% in 2023 then to 9.7% in 2024, the lowest turnover for the state since 2014. While total turnover for the state has largely recovered, it is not consistent across industries. Some of the highest turnover industries remain elevated.
Figure 3 highlights the top-ranked turnover industries for 2024.
- The Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation industry has consistently ranked the highest for turnover since 2016, corresponding to its seasonal and often part-time employment in businesses like ski resorts and zoos. This sector had its peak turnover before the pandemic with decreasing turnover afterwards, following national trends.
- Both Accommodation and Food Services and Other Services — typically low-training, low-wage industries — experienced peak turnover in 2021.
- Administrative Services and Construction both experienced downward trends in turnover from 2016-2024.
Figure 3. Industry turnover rates, 2016-2024, Idaho
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Quarterly Workforce Indicators
The overall trend for turnover is clearly associated with seasonal employment. Recreation and Construction, as well as lower wage industries like Food Services, tend to have higher turnover. In contrast, higher paying or more specialized industries like Utilities have lower turnover (only 3 or 4% over the past decade).[2]
Job postings vs. openings
Job demand can also be measured by the number of open jobs available. However, it is important to distinguish that job postings don’t necessarily correspond to job openings.
Job postings are advertised on a job board like Indeed or Handshake. These postings are aggregated and analyzed by the Conference Board under its Help Wanted Online (HWOL) dataset and published by Lightcast.
Since employers can advertise a single position on multiple websites, there may be duplicate job listings, which the Conference Board attempts to identify and delete. Despite this challenge, posting activity is trusted as a valid indicator of labor demand.
Job openings are measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics through the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). This survey is sent out monthly to participants who fill out their employment and hiring numbers. Since it is voluntary, response rates may be low and affect the numbers.
Looking at Figure 4 below, job postings in Idaho have been significantly lower in number than job openings for the past decade, implying that duplicate postings are being effectively removed and not exaggerated.
For the most part, the trend of job postings has tracked closely with job openings, both increasing during the pandemic then slowly cooling after 2022. However, a divergence can be seen in 2020, where average monthly openings faced a decline not observable in job postings. This could be attributed to low response rates from the JOLTS survey.[3]
Figure 4. HWOL average monthly job postings and JOLTS average monthly openings, 2015-2025, Idaho
Source: Help Wanted OnLine via Lightcast; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Conclusion
Idaho’s labor market has become tighter and more competitive over time. Even as some job demand measures show recovery, employers still face more difficulty filling openings than they did 10 years ago. This is especially the case in skilled fields like healthcare, education, manufacturing and finance.
Workers have benefited from strong demand, but employers must increasingly rely on training, career development and better job design to attract and keep talent. Some industries remain reliable sources of quick hiring, but even they show signs of change as Idaho’s economy grows and evolves.
Overall, Idaho’s job market is consistently in need of workers. Whether an employer or a job seeker, various indicators highlight both opportunities and challenges ahead. The state’s labor force continues to shift over time, while changing expectations reshape how jobs get filled.
Brandon.Duong@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
208-236-6715
Ryan.Whitesides@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
208-696-2347
Sources
[1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, 2015-2025, accessed August 2026, Bureau of Labor Statistics Data
[2] U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2015-2025, accessed August 2026, https://qwiexplorer.ces.census.gov/
[3] Conference Board, Lightcast, Help Wanted Online, 2015-2025, accessed August 2026, https://lightcast.io
This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY27 as part of a Workforce Information grant (55%) and state/nonfederal funds (45%) totaling $649,127.
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