Category Archives: Employment News

Around Idaho: Economic Activity in June 2021

Information provided in these news updates is from professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern
Eastern Idaho

 

NORTHERN IDAHO – Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai & Shoshone counties

Kootenai County

  • Riverstone Holdings is developing a mixed-use building in the Riverstone district. The new building will include office space for rent on the ground floor, three floors of condos above and underground parking. The project is slated for completion in summer 2022. Source: Journal of Business
  • The Coeur d’Alene Ironman race was successfully completed, after COVID-19 forced a cancellation in 2021. The triathlon – which features a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run – was the first full-distance ironman race held in Coeur d’Alene since 2017 and drew about 2,100 competitors to the area. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • The city of Hayden’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved a plan to turn the Hayden Meadows soccer complex into a housing subdivision. The 10-acre field was acquired, along with two adjacent properties, by Kulka Land LLC, which plans to turn the parcel into a 53-unit single family subdivision. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Openings:

  • Iron Pizza Co. & Taphouse, Athol
  • Geico Insurance, Coeur d’Alene
  • Esthenique LLC, Coeur d’Alene
  • Cuppa Columbian Coffee, Coeur d’Alene
  • Backwoods Whiskey, Coeur d’Alene
  • Link Properties, Coeur d’Alene
  • Safe Splash, Coeur d’Alene
  • The Fixture Gallery, Dalton
  • Tubbs Coffee Roasters, Hayden
  • Brats & Brews, Spirit Lake

Sam.Wolkenhauer@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 457-8789 ext. 4451

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Around Idaho: Economic Activity in May 2021

Information provided in these news updates is from professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern
Eastern Idaho

 

NORTHERN IDAHO – Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai & Shoshone counties

Kootenai County

  • The Coeur d’Alene School District delayed the opening of a new planned magnet school until the 2022-2023 school year. District officials cited financial constraints as the reason. The magnet school will offer a hybrid learning model with a community service focus. Roughly 200 students are already enrolled in the school. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • A new four-story mixed commercial and residential building will be built in Coeur d’Alene’s Riverstone development. The building will include office spaces on the first floor with condo units on the higher floors. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Kootenai County’s Community Development office produced a 22-page report on potential growth management strategies and is seeking public comments and participation. Kootenai County has been growing by roughly 2.5% per year over the last decade, and the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization projects that the population of the county will grow by more than 130,000 by 2040. Source: Spokane Journal of Business

Openings in Coeur d’Alene

    • Terraza Waterfront Café.
    • The Fixture Gallery.
    • BidMore2Win Auctions.
    • Gas and Grain.
    • CDA Cremation & Funeral.
    • Cranberry Road Winery. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
    • Blue Shell Game Bar. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Sam.Wolkenhauer@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 457-8789 ext. 4451

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Idaho Veteran Census Data Important for Providing Services

Idaho is home to an estimated 116,157 veterans, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey1. That translates to a 9.1% share of the state’s overall population of individuals 18 years and older compared with the nation’s 18,230,322 veterans at a share of 7.3% of total population 18 years and older.

Data on where veterans and other characteristics are gathered for myriad reasons:

  • State and federal officials determine how and where to provide government services to assist veterans in all aspects of returning to civilian life. Some veterans find their specific jobs in the military do not transition to the civilian workforce, such as personnel who load armaments or who are involved in large-scale field logistics. At the county and state government levels, staff are assigned to help veterans find jobs, provide college and career counseling and making sure they understand their military benefits. Some federal jobs provide preference to veteran hiring by giving additional points to a job application. It is helpful to have someone who knows how to help newly-separated military veterans navigate these benefits.
  • It helps to know where veterans are living, so when Veteran Administration officials decide where to locate clinics, hospitals and long-term care facilities, they are placed in a centralized spot for access.
  • Many private employers prefer to hire veterans based on the levels of discipline and training that translates to resilience and solid work ethic.

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Around Idaho: Economic Activity in April 2021

Information provided in these news updates is from professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern
Eastern Idaho

 

NORTHERN IDAHO – Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai & Shoshone counties

Kootenai County

  • Work is now underway on a major Idaho Department of Transportation improvement project on State Route 41 between Post Falls and Rathdrum. The work includes widening the highway with additional lanes in both directions as well as new traffic lights and improved railroad crossings. The $131 million project is scheduled for completion in 2022. Source: Journal of Business
  • Coeur d’Alene Schools suspended its mask requirement for staff and students and replaced it with a mask recommendation. Mandatory masks for students have been a continued source of consternation for Coeur d’Alene parents. Source: CDA Press

Openings:

Coeur d’Alene

  • Chalice Brewing
  • Life is Good
  • ReMax Centennial
  • Lake City Vape
  • One Lakeside Hotel
  • Wallaroo’s
  • Affordable Bridal and Tuxedo
  • Prock’s Paint Bucket
  • Coeur d’Alene Wigs

Post Falls

  • The Coffee Market
  • Flippens Secured Self Storage
  • Washboard Laundromat

Spirit Lake

  • Retrofit Athletics

Sam.Wolkenhauer@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 457-8789 ext. 4451

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Idaho’s Cybersecurity Jobs Increase 160% since 2015

Despite the nationwide pandemic, the number of cybersecurity job openings in Idaho saw a 28% increase in 2020 with an estimated 1,200 available postings through the course of the year. Since 2015, openings for cybersecurity jobs have grown by 160%, sustained by accelerating demand across multiple industry sectors. Nationwide, job postings rose to more than 350,000 in 2020.

* Job postings have been filtered to reflect computer/math occupations with job postings that request cybersecurity skills as determined from the Burning Glass skills taxonomy.

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Around Idaho: Economic Activity in March 2021

Information provided in these news updates is from professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern
Eastern Idaho

 

NORTHERN IDAHO – Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai & Shoshone counties

Region

  • The Panhandle Health District has opened COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all persons 16 and older. To date, the health district has administered roughly 90,000 doses, or 85% of its 106,000 distributed doses. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Amid falling COVID-19 case counts and dropping test positivity rates, Panhandle Health District has rescinded the masking mandate for the five northern counties. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Kootenai County

  • The Idaho Transportation Department has begun a multiyear improvement project on State Route 41 between Post Falls and Rathdrum. The work will include widening the highway with additional lanes and a median, as well as safety improvements including bridges over railroad crossings and new traffic signals. The $131 million multiphase project is slated for completion in 2023. Source: Journal of Business
  • Construction has begun on the Atlas Mill site in Coeur d’Alene. The first phase of work on the mixed residential and commercial redevelopment will include 30 single family homes, 24 townhomes and 150 multifamily units. Two more construction phases will subsequently add additional residential, retail and office space. Source: Journal of Business
  • J.C. Penny announced it will close its store in the Silver Lake Mall in Coeur d’Alene. This pending closure will shutter the last J.C. Penny in northern Idaho, following the closure of stores in Lewiston, Moscow and Ponderay. Source: Spokesman Review

Openings

Coeur d’Alene

  • Pilates by the Lake
  • EdgeTek
  • Five Pine Wealth Management
  • Pantry Specialty Market

Hayden

  • American Kickboxing Academy
  • Auction Depot
  • Thompson’s Custom Orthopedics & Prosthetics

Post Falls

    • Artesian Bottleless Water
    • NW Group Auto Sales

Sam.Wolkenhauer@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 457-8789 ext. 4451

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Idaho Beef Industry Showing Marked Recovery

The beef life cycle is one of the most complex of any food, taking anywhere from two to three years to bring beef from farm to fork. This process involves multiple stakeholders, beginning with farmers and ranchers and ending with packing plant workers. Traditionally, the U.S. beef industry has been comprised of three main sectors ‒ cattle production, feedlots and meat processing. The packing sector is the primary driving factor in the beef industry’s vertical supply chain. The packers are the market outlet for the feeding sector and in turn, the feedlots are the primary market outlet for the cow-calf producers.

An overview of Idaho’s beef industry shows the cattle production sector’s total cow-calf inventory has grown slightly faster than the national average. A 2019 January industry snapshot shows Idaho’s cattle inventory stood at 2.5 million cows and calves, raised across 7,400 farm operations. This inventory comprised 504,000 beef cows that had calved and 625,000 milk cows that had calved. About 48% of this inventory was in south central Idaho, which has a competitive cattle production advantage in forage and crop aftermath grazing resources compared with the rest of the state.

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Around Idaho: Economic Activity in February 2021

Information provided in this article is from professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO – Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai & Shoshone counties

Region

  • The Panhandle Health District board voted by a 4-3 decision to extend the mask mandate for all five northern counties. The mandate will now remain in effect until the next board meeting, currently scheduled for April 22. Source: KREM

Kootenai County

  • Housing inventories in Kootenai County continue to drop due to high demand and aggressive offers by out-of-state buyers looking to move to northern Idaho. Inventory of homes below $1 million fell to only 27 in early February, with median prices up more than 30% from 2020. Source: Spokesman Review
  • Community Network Libraries, which have been closed since November due to COVID-19, have reopened with social distancing and occupancy regulations in effect. Source: Coeur d’ Alene Press
  • Dollar Fulfillment, a Hayden based e-commerce fulfillment company, has purchased several acres in the Post Falls Bighorn industrial park and is planning a future expansion there. Source: Journal of Business
  • Heritage Health is now partnering with the Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. Source: Coeur d’ Alene Press

Openings

  • Leavitt Works Gunsmithing in Hayden
  • Westside Pizza in Coeur d’Alene
  • Maverick Gas Station in Post Falls
  • Timberlane Trading Company in Coeur d’Alene

Sam.Wolkenhauer@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 457-8789 ext 4451

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Dearth of Skilled Workers Continues to Plague Employers

Despite the amount of unemployment created by the pandemic, the scarcity of skilled workers is growing more intense. Some industries have suffered more than others, however for people who are unemployed or pondering a transition to a skilled job with more security and higher pay – or need funding support for training – it’s a job seeker’s market.

A Divergence of Industries

Idaho and the nation were experiencing one of the longest periods of expansion in history prior to 2020. Finding skilled workers available to fill jobs had been a challenge for several years. Demographics and population growth limited the number of new people available to work. Hot industries were caught between increasing demand for services from the growing economy, and not having enough available workers to fill positions for skilled or unskilled workers. Government labor and training agencies were busy using pipeline training programs and apprenticeships to connect employers with workers.

In addition to the tragic loss of life, the economic disruption caused in the United States by Covid-19 has not been the same for each industry. The large number of job losses during 2020 were most concentrated in hospitality and consumer services – industries the pandemic impacted the most. Occupations most affected by layoffs tended to pay lower-than-average wages, resulting in the emergence of what some economists have dubbed the K-Shaped Recession. Figure 1 attempts to demonstrate this divergence of experience by lining out national wage experience into three categories or terciles.

Workers earning less than $16 per hour have endured more unemployment during the pandemic than occupations paying more $16 or more.

Figure 1: U.S. Job Losses by Wage Tercile

Source: Economic Policy Institute

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Around Idaho: Economic Activity in January 2021

Information provided in this article is from professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

NORTHERN IDAHO – Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai & Shoshone counties

Kootenai County

  • The Idaho Division of Veteran Services plans to proceed with construction of a 64-room home for veterans in Post Falls. The 83,000-square-foot skilled nursing facility is slated for completion in 2022. It will be Idaho’s fourth veterans home and the first in northern Idaho. Source: Journal of Business
  • Redevelopment of the former Atlas Mill site in Coeur d’Alene is underway, with the first phase now scheduled for the first half of 2021 to include a mix of housing. The first development phase includes 24 townhomes, 54 single family homes and 93 multifamily units along with a mix of retail and office space. Altogether, this first phase of construction will use four of the Atlas Mill site’s 13 development plats. Source: Journal of Business
  • Kenworth Trucks is planning to build a new facility in Post Falls to offer parts, sales, service and leasing. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Openings
Post Falls

  • Maverick Gas Station
  • Neighbors-N-Need
  • Olive’s Pastry
  • Dirt Kart

Coeur d’Alene

  • Linden Coffee Company
  • Panhandle Cone & Coffee
  • Once Upon A Fairytale
  • TK Lighting Design
  • Ziply Fiber Services
  • Becky’s Sewing Center
  • Ventura Stone

Dalton Gardens

  • SuperSprings International

Sam.Wolkenhauer@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 457-8789 ext 4451 Continue reading →