Tag Archives: Alivia Metts

Recession, Recovery in Northern Idaho Recounted

This is the final article written by Alivia Metts as the Department’s northern-based regional economist. She recently moved on to other career pursuits.

Telling the story about the economy through the lens of a regional economist throughout the economic volatility of the past seven to eight years has had its challenges, but it has been far more exciting and rewarding.

I started at the Idaho Department of Labor during the depths of the recession when employment in northern Idaho  dropped significantly. Today, nearly all sectors are firing on all cylinders, wage pressure is starting to ignite and economic activity is rolling.

Recession

The recession really started to take hold in 2008 and became persistent and painful for about two years. Layoffs were occurring in nearly every industry and the number of people holding multiple jobs to make ends meet increased substantially. Jobless individuals were filing for unemployment benefits at an astounding rate. The number of new claims filed in 2009 was nearly 44,000 compared with just over 18,000 in 2007.

Continue reading →

Small Businesses Important to Idaho’s Economy

Nearly 7,000 new businesses established in Idaho through the worst years since the Great Depression still existed in 2013. These companies represent 13 percent of all employers and employed 49,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Business Employment Dynamics program.

Small businesses – those with fewer than 50 employees – make up 96.7 percent of all Idaho businesses. They employ over 280,000 people, more than half of all workers in the state. Continue reading →

Around Idaho: April Economic Activity

Information provided in this article has been gathered from various sources throughout the state, including professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

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

STATEWIDE ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS

  • The Food and Drug Administration has approved genetically engineered foods as safe. The action covers six varieties of J.R. Simplot potatoes.
  • Idaho’s construction industry went on a hiring spree during what the National Weather Service recorded as the warmest February ever for Boise. The Idaho Business Review reported that 5,000 more construction jobs were created in Idaho in February compared with a year earlier. The 14.3 percent gain was the second highest in the country, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated the growth at 3,700 jobs, and the Idaho Department of Labor estimate was 1,000.

Continue reading →

Around Idaho: March Economic Activity

Information provided in this article has been gathered from various sources throughout the state, including professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

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

Statewide Economic Highlights

  • North Central Idaho’s Clearwater Economic Development Association launched its “Dream It – Do It” at its annual meeting in February. Southeastern Washington is also part of the initiative which uses materials from the Manufacturing Institute to focus on developing the next generation of manufacturing employees by encouraging greater career awareness of manufacturing. The initiative is also supported by Idaho-Lewis County Technical Education Foundation, Lewis-Clark State College, the Northwest Intermountain Manufacturers Association, the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association and Valley Vision.
  • Idaho Power Co. reported 2014 net income of $189.4 million, up from $176.7 million in 2013. Last year’s high returns will allow Idaho Power to share earnings of approximately $25 million with Idaho customers under the Idaho regulatory settlement, according to Darrel Anderson, president of the utility’s parent company. Net income in the last quarter was $34.2 million, compared with $27.4 million a year earlier.

Continue reading →

Northern Idaho Shares Hot Jobs Demand

With unemployment rates down to levels not seen since the start of the recession and job growth on the rise, job seekers are becoming more strategic when looking for work and seek jobs in demand

Overwhelmingly, the health care sector and its occupations top every ranking — growth, number of jobs in the economy, annual openings and highest wages, according to the Idaho Department of Labor’s latest long-term state and regional job projections through 2022 regional projections which look at pay and growth prospects.

Continue reading →

Idaho’s Population Growth Slowed During Recession

Idaho’s population growth dropped from an annual average of 2.7 percent prior to the recession to  0.7 percent through the recession and into the recovery.

Much of the growth was slowed by the loss of Idaho’s 20-somethings and 45- to 49-year-old population bloc. In 2010 alone, over 10,000 20- to 29-year-olds left Idaho — a loss of 4.5 percent and an anomaly over the past decade. Since then, the rate of 20- to 24-year-olds has been rebounding while the state continues to show losses in the 25- to-29-year-old bloc. As of 2013, there was no net change in that age group, offering hope that age group is coming back.

The drop in 20-somethings through the recession illustrates how mobile the workforce has become. As more opportunities arise elsewhere, workers will migrate.

Continue reading →

February Economic Activity Around Idaho

Information provided in this article has been gathered from various sources throughout the state, including weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

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

Statewide Economic Highlights

  • Idaho’s 50 wineries received $17 million in revenues in 2013 with a larger overall economic impact of $169 million, according to the Idaho Business Review’s report on a new study by Stonebridge Research Group for the Idaho Wine Commission. The study shows the number of wineries is increasing far faster than the bottles of wine produced, and more than a third of revenues come from direct-to-consumer sales rather than shipping to stores in Idaho and elsewhere. The state went from 11 wineries in 2002 to 50 in 2013. It now has 51.

Continue reading →

January Economic Activity Around Idaho

Information provided in this article has been gathered from various sources throughout the state, including weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

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

Statewide Developments

  • A recent report from the finance website Wallet Hub says Idaho is the third most-generous state – tied with Kansas, according to Boise State Public Radio. Utah and South Dakota topped the list. Using IRS statistics and survey data for the report for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Wallet Hub looked at volunteer time and money donated. Idahoans’ high rate of giving was attributed in part to the state’s large Mormon population. About a quarter of Idahoans identify as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Giving money to a church counts as a charitable contribution in most studies. A University of Pennsylvania study found that 88 percent of active Mormons report giving 10 percent of their income to the church. That’s higher than any other religion in America.

Continue reading →

2014 Data Shows Economic Promise for Northern Idaho

Northern Idaho’s economy showed real life in 2013 and the data currently available for 2014 are stacking up well.

Despite the continued slowness of the state’s economic recovery, the most recent preliminary data for 2014 through June shows regional employment up 1.8 percent over the first half of 2013 with the same three counties leading the way: Kootenai County was up 3.6 percent, Boundary County up 2.1 percent and Bonner County increased by 1 percent. Benewah County also saw fractional employment growth but not enough to offset a 5 percent decline in Shoshone County. Continue reading →