Category Archives: Employers

Businesses: Learn how to pay employees and stay in compliance, May 31

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: May 25, 2023
Media Contact: Kandi.Rudd@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho businesses are invited to learn about the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour services Wednesday, May 31 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. (MDT) during an online seminar via Zoom.

Employees are also welcome to attend.

The seminar, featuring Wage and Hour supervisor Artie Holmes, will cover wage and hour jurisdiction, the wage claim process, wage deductions and reductions, wage payment upon separation, paid time off, vacation and sick time, and documentation. Continue reading →

The future of broadband in Idaho

High-speed internet, or broadband internet, once seen as a luxury service, is now understood to be a critical utility that brings equitable economic opportunity to many.

Broadband not only brings social connectivity, but can raise property values, increase job opportunities, boost education access and expand health outcomes through telehealth. [1] However, the difference in access between urban and rural America continues and was especially apparent once the pandemic set in.

This gap, known as the “digital divide,” is a gap rural America is all too familiar with. From 2017-2021, rural households in Idaho have seen smaller percentage increases in internet subscriptions (1.3% fewer) and computing devices (0.5% fewer) than urban households. With the pandemic highlighting this issue to a broader audience, lawmakers are working on closing this gap, increasing economic opportunities for rural households.

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May 9 labor market webinar focuses on broadband in Idaho

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: May 2, 2023
Media Contact: Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov

Broadband’s impact on Idaho’s labor market – including how many Idahoans work in the industry, how much they are paid, the number of Idaho companies that install broadband, and the impact of broadband jobs on Idaho’s economy – will be the focus of a May 9 webinar hosted by the Idaho Department of Labor.

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Employers: reserve a seat at Labor’s Teen and Young Adult Job Fair

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: April 19, 2023
Media Contact: Janalee.Henderson@labor.idaho.gov

Back by popular demand, the Idaho Department of Labor is hosting our annual Teen and Young Adult Job Fair in Meridian, May 13. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Galaxy Event Center at Wahooz Family Fun Zone, 1385 S. Blue Marlin Lane.

The department still has space available for employers wishing to participate.

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Apprenticeship Spotlight: Hard work pays off for three machine operator graduates

Students who obtained their machine operator apprenticeship credential stand with their mentors.

Pictured left to right: Owner of High Desert Milk Karla Robinson, High Desert Milk instructor Tory Bailey, Luis Arevalo, Guillermo Martinez, Juvencio Trejo, plant manager Shawn Burton and Bob Snyder.

For student Guillermo Martinez, the Registered Apprenticeship program paved the path to his career.

“The program gave me a head start in life and helped get me ready to work 12 hour shifts. I have learned so much from the plant (High Desert Milk), and I feel I have a better chance of getting hired at other plants,” Martinez said.

The Idaho Department of Labor connects Idahoans to Registered Apprenticeship opportunities in the Gem State to expand and diversify the workforce. And the machine operator apprenticeship is graduating skilled workers in south central Idaho.

The Magic Valley area is host for multiple U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Registered Apprenticeship sponsorships. Various sponsors include the College of Southern Idaho, McCain Foods and High Desert Milk. They each have programs designed to train employees in operation maintenance for manufacturing, packaging, dehydration and use of other machines within a facility.

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Idaho’s small employer establishments continue to grow

Small businesses continue to be the core drivers of employment growth throughout Idaho when considering both new establishments and overall contribution to total employment. However, large entities may have had more success in recruitment during the tight labor market of the past year due to name recognition, overall position growth and movement within the company, along with larger job listing budgets.

The average employer establishment in Idaho had approximately 11-12 workers over the past year, and more than 90% of Idaho’s covered employers have hired fewer than 20 people per year on average over the past four quarters.

Key employment metrics based on employer size for the past 12 months as of third quarter 2022:

  • 92% of Idaho’s employers hired fewer than 20 employees.
  • Fewer than 200 employers in Idaho hired more than 500 employees. These large employers make up less than 1% of total employers who pay unemployment insurance taxes but 27% of total statewide employment.
  • Idaho added nearly 6,000 employer establishments in the year ending Sept. 30, 2022, with 97% of them having fewer than 20 employees and all in the private sector.
  • One-year share of total employment by industry: professional and business services 33%, financial activities 12%, construction 12%, and health care and social assistance 10%.Table: Employer establishments by number of employees as of 3rdQ 2022

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Apprenticeship Spotlight: Idaho Health Care Association helps women excel

More Idahoans than ever before are using Registered Apprenticeship as a path to advance their job opportunities. For women in the workforce, apprenticeships like those managed by Idaho Health Care Association (IHCA) have proven beneficial in transforming their careers and filling gaps in Idaho’s labor market.

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Impacted by foreign trade? Trade Act Assistance helps laid off employees find work

Employee layoffs are not uncommon when a U.S. company offshores some of its production or is sold to an international firm that does similar work in a foreign country.Photo: shipping containers on barge

That’s when employers and employees can seek out career transition support for their laid-off employees through the Trade Act Assistance program (TAA). TAA is a federal program administered by the U.S Department of Labor that provides services and benefits to workers who lose their jobs due foreign trade.

Various industries – such as manufacturing – might typically be affected by a foreign trade issue due to the ebb and flow of product supply. If layoffs occur as a result, businesses should know these layoffs don’t need to be devastating for their employees.

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Apprenticeship Spotlight: Idaho floral business grows careers through Registered Apprenticeship

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Feb. 15, 2023
Media Contact: Gina Robison, Gina.Robison@labor.idaho.gov

Contributor: Mike Hollenbeck, American Institute for Floral Designers

Construction, technology, advanced manufacturing and a host of other industries benefit greatly from apprenticeship programs – why not include the floral industry?

Floral Artistry, a floral business in Lewiston, recently made use of a Registered Apprenticeship, a training program registered through the U.S. Department of Labor that provides paid on-the-job learning and related technical instruction.

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Feb. 14 labor market webinar focuses on accessing U.S. Census data

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Feb. 8, 2023
Media Contact: Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho employers are invited to a free webinar, Feb. 14, 11 a.m. to noon (MST) via Zoom. Businesses will learn about the U.S. Census and why it provides crucial information to all parts of our economy.

Jan Roeser, the Idaho Department of Labor economist for southwestern Idaho, will explain commuting patterns, characteristics defining consumers and housing trends, population migration patterns and how communities are changing over time.

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