Category Archives: Employment News

Around Idaho: Economic activity, August 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of August and includes 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 and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Bonner County

  • The ongoing Sunset Fire northeast of Athol has burned more than 3,200 acres. Due to the fire, the U.S. Forest Service announced a closure order for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Source: KHQ News

Kootenai County

  • The North Idaho State Fair opened Aug. 15 for its annual 10-day run at the Kootenai County fairgrounds. The 2025 theme was “Keeping Tradition Alive,” and the fair featured hundreds of attractions and vendors. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • The Coeur d’Alene City Council has proposed a $152.6 million budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year which includes a 3% property tax increase, which will generate $835,702 in additional revenue. The city council held public hearings concerning the proposed budget in August. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Home prices edged further upward in Kootenai County according to the latest market snapshot from Coeur d’Alene Regional Realtors. The median home price increased to $545,000, which was a 3.3% increase year over year. Active listings and single-family home sales in Kootenai County have both increased slightly year over year, while average days on market has declined slightly. Source: Journal of Business

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Idaho’s agricultural landowners are getting older

The population of those 65 and over continues to increase in the counties of Idaho that contain a large amount of agricultural land. As a result, older Idahoans who own this land are at a crossroads of whether to pass it to a successor or sell it when they can no longer tend to it themselves.

Idaho’s landownership

The seven largest private commercial landowning organizations or individuals in the state account for 6% of the total private land, with an estimated 1.8 million total acres in land usage for farming, ranching or logging [1]. The other 70.4% is public land. Continue reading →

Around Idaho: Economic activity, July 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of July and includes 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 and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • Construction is underway on a large new mixed-use project in Post Falls. Named ‘Nonna,’ the project includes a 50,000 square-foot building with four stories, including commercial space on the ground floor and 33 apartment units on the upper three levels. Commercial tenants will include a ground-floor brunch restaurant. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • A new food truck court, called Eats On Spokane Street, is open in Post Falls. The location includes a new open-air building which houses MelFit Healthy Kitchen and Nachos Cantina, with four food trucks including Charcuteria, Angel’s Eats and Treats, Woody’s Smoked Salmon and Taco Works. There are three remaining spaces for additional food trucks. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

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Around Idaho: Economic activity, June 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of June and includes 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 and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • Coeur d’Alene Ironman was held on Sunday, June 22. The 70.3-mile triathlon, which has become a fixture summer event in Coeur d’Alene, drew more than 1,000 athletes to northern Idaho this year. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • A new retail center in Coeur d’Alene is nearing completion and has begun announcing tenants. A Five Guys restaurant and EyeMart Express will anchor the new Heritage Square on U.S. 95 in northern Coeur d’Alene. The property has additional retail spaces available, with Five Guys set to open in July. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • The Post Falls City Council approved a construction improvement agreement for a 148-lot subdivision in northern Post Falls. The project, dubbed Crown Reserve, will be located north of the Crown Pointe Subdivision and will require significant infrastructure improvements. No timeline has been published for construction. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

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Idaho’s housing market reflects construction trends

The housing market has been a hot topic in recent years as high mortgage rates and rising prices have created affordability challenges across the state. To address these challenges, multi-family housing unit permits have had an increasing share of overall housing permits in Idaho.

Additionally, the labor force side of the equation is growing strong, as construction employment is the second largest growing industry in the state.

Affordability challenges

Rising unaffordability is a nationwide challenge, both rent and house owner’s equivalent of rent have shown increases in almost identical ways. Prices stagnated during 2008-2011 as the housing crisis turned the housing market upside down.

Outside of the housing crisis, housing costs have continued to increase even faster since 2021, as inflation and mortgage rates began to rise. The prices have been shrinking the number of homes on the market and rising costs of inputs (lumber, concrete, steel, etc.) for new homes.

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Idaho’s rural recreational counties lead state for number of employers per resident

Idaho is a large state with significant land area in mountain ranges, forests, wilderness and cropland. Although beautiful and geologically diverse, the state’s rugged landscape results in low overall population density compared to many U.S. states.

Averaging 24 residents per square mile, the Gem State has a population density that is nearly one-fourth that of the U.S. (96 people per square mile) and holds the No. 6 lowest density per square mile compared to all other states (between No. 5 being New Mexico with 18 people per square mile and No. 7 being Nebraska with 26 people per square mile).

The population density of Idaho’s nine urban counties (Ada, Bannock, Bonneville, Canyon, Kootenai, Latah, Madison, Nez Perce and Twin Falls) combined, averages 143 residents per square mile. The remaining 35 rural counties average significantly lower population density with eight residents per square mile.

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Around Idaho: Economic activity, May 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of May and includes 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 and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • North Idaho College’s (NIC) trustees voted unanimously to bring forward a $58.9 million budget for fiscal year 2026 which includes the college’s first tuition increase since 2019. The budget proposal includes a tuition increase of $5.50 per credit for in-district students and $6 per credit for all other students. The budget proposal would shrink NIC’s budget deficit from $5.2 million in fiscal year 2025 to $1.2 million in the upcoming fiscal year. Even with the proposed tuition increase, NIC’s tuition rates would remain tied with the College of Southern Idaho, which is the lowest in the state. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • School levies in Post Falls and Lakeland School District passed with 62% and 66% support, respectively. Post Falls passed a $5.9 million per year supplemental levy which will support extracurriculars, school safety measures, staff salaries andother items. Lakeland passed a $7.5 million per year supplemental levy. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • The Post Falls City Council approved a $11.7 million project to design and build a new public works operations center. The new facility will eventually house the city’s streets, water operations and utility divisions. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

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Around Idaho: Economic activity, April 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of April and includes 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 and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • Hagadone Hospitality broke ground on the new Sherman Tower, which will be a 15-story expansion of the Coeur d’Alene Resort. The tower will feature 139 guest rooms in addition to nearly 10,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office space. The opening is scheduled for the spring of 2027. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Two new hotels are under construction in Kootenai County. In Coeur d’Alene, a Marriott-branded AC Hotel is now under construction, which will have 126 guest rooms and open in 2027. Work was previously underway on a 151-room Hyatt Place Hotel in Post Falls, which will open in December. Source: Journal of Business
  • The developers of the new Thomas George luxury high-rise condominium tower in Coeur d’Alene announced that construction is scheduled for completion this year, with residents moving in by years’ end. The top floors of the 80-unit, 18 story tower have been poured. Source: Journal of Business

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Construction industry has highest percentage growth in Idaho

Idaho’s construction industry is one of the top industries, besides health care and social assistance, with the highest percentage growth in Idaho. The industry has grown over 60% from 2004 to 2024, driven by accelerated population gains and economic development from the past few decades.

Employment

Construction employment declined by 44% (or 22,887 people) during 2007-2011 as a consequence from the Great Recession’s impact on the economy. As the economy continued to recover after the Great Recession, so did construction employment with consistent growth over the past decade. Construction employment passed its previous 2007 peak in 2020 and has continued to experience growth with the current average employment in 2024 consisting of 66,389 private construction workers in Idaho.

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Around Idaho: Economic activity, March 2025

Map of IdahoInformation provided in these news updates is collected up until the end of March and includes 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 and Shoshone counties

Regional news

Kootenai County

  • Kootenai Health and MultiCare have announced plans to develop a new 30-acre medical campus, called Prairie Medical Campus, on the Highway 41 corridor in Post Falls. Phase 1 will include a micro-hospital with an emergency department and imaging, along with a multi-story facility for ambulatory surgery, laboratory services and clinic offices. Development will begin in 2025 with a 24-to-36-month completion timetable for the first phase. Source: MultiCare Newsroom
  • The first phase of construction at the Millworx development has been completed, with over 200 residential units, including townhouses and multifamily residences, completed. In addition, a four-story mixed-use building has been completed with residential space available on the ground floors and residential units now available on upper levels. A 151-room hotel is still under construction and is expected to be completed by year-end. Source: Journal of Business

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