Tag Archives: Dan Cravens

Around Idaho: August 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.

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

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

Kootenai County

  • Hagadone Hospitality plans to build a 200-room hotel tower to adjoin with The Coeur d’Alene Resort. The new tower will bring total resort capacity above 500 rooms, which is considered a key number to book large conferences and events. (Source: Coeur d’Alene Press)
  • Viking Construction’s proposed construction of an 87-lot subdivision in Post Falls received city council approval. The new subdivision will consist of single family lots spanning 37 acres. (Source: Coeur d’Alene Press)
  • AccraFab, a Washington-based manufacturer, and North Idaho College failed to reach an agreement on the sale of 11.4 acres of land at the center of AccraFab’s effort to relocate to Coeur d’Alene. Negotiations ended after neither side was willing to concede on a $65,000 price difference. (Source: Coeur d’Alene Press)
  • The Avista Foundation awarded a $45,000 grant to Kootenai Health to expand the medical center. The grant will assist Kootenai Medical Center’s efforts to create a dedicated neonatal intensive care unit. (Source: Coeur d’Alene Press)

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Around Idaho: July 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.

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

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

Kootenai County

  • North Idaho College opened its new Aerospace Center of Excellence on June 30. The center will offer training in aerospace component fabrication and testing for workers wishing to join northern Idaho’s growing aerospace manufacturing industry.
  • A dangerous fire season has overworked firefighting services. The Panhandle National Forest Service has already exceeded its average annual fire retardant use and is currently averaging six forest fires per day. Several fires have encroached on recreational areas and lakefronts, impeding are tourism.
  • Tourism in Hayden was hampered by a health advisory concerning a toxic algae bloom on Hayden Lake. People were advised by the Panhandle Health District not to swim in the lake until the problem is resolved.
  • The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction that would shut down poker rooms in the Coeur d’Alene Casino. The Coeur d’Alene tribe is fighting the injunction, arguing that poker is not an illegal form of gambling because it is a contest of skill.
  • The Coeur d’Alene City Council voted to vacate a lot for the construction of a new hotel tower for the Coeur d’Alene Resort. The hotel tower will provide an additional 200 rooms, which are designed to help attract larger business conferences.

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Mechanics and Auto Techs in Greater Demand

Idaho students training to become auto mechanics at the Dennis Professional Technical School in Boise, Idaho.

Idaho students training to become auto mechanics at the Dennis Professional Technical School in Boise, Idaho.

The need for automotive service technicians and mechanics in Idaho is expected to grow 14.9 percent from 3,079 workers in 2012 to 3,537 in 2022, according the 2012-2022 Long-Term Occupational Projections issued by the Idaho Department of Labor.

Nationwide, this occupation will grow by 13.6 percent, according to estimates provided by Economic Modeling Systems International, an independent economic forecasting firm.

Multiple factors may contribute to Idaho’s stronger-than-average projected growth in this occupation. One may be related to income. Idaho’s per capita income in 2013 stood at $36,146, nationally the figure was $40,316. The gap in income is likely to cause more Idahoans to drive and buy older vehicles. Older vehicles are generally in need of greater repair and maintenance, so the need for mechanics and automotive technicians increases due to demand.

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Around Idaho: June 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

  • The number of housing units in Idaho increased by 6,000 between July 2013 and July 2014. While about a quarter of the state’s housing units are in Ada County, nearly 3,000 of the new units were built in the county, representing about half of the growth of new housing units in the state. (From Boise State Public Radio)

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Some Eastern Idaho Industries Rebounding

The strength of agriculture and food processing in eastern Idaho sheltered the region to a degree from the past recession. Unemployment rates in most southeastern counties never exceeded 9 percent. Oneida, Franklin, Madison, Teton and Bear Lake counties all topped out around 7 percent.

Health care was another sector that helped offset job losses. Between 2007 and 2009, health care added 2,100 jobs as the region’s elderly population rose while many other sectors were shedding workers.

Despite that growth, employment in the 16 eastern counties dropped more than 9,000. Construction and administrative and support and waste management and remediation services combined for a majority of those losses – construction losing 3,200 jobs and administrative support another 2,400.

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Around Idaho: May 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

SCHOOL BOND RECAP
As reported in idahoednews.org:

  • Bonneville County: More than 66 percent of voters said yes to a $56.1 million high school bond May 19, but fell shy of the two-thirds supermajority needed to pass a school bond. In all, 6,673 voters said yes, a 66.19 majority, while 3,408 voters said no. It is the third time since 2014 that Bonneville voters have rejected a bond issue.
  • Notus: School officials got the go-ahead to replace an 89-year-old elementary school, as patrons gave a $4.8 million bond issue a 70 percent supermajority. Another school bond issue had failed in November.
  • Preston: A five-year, $4.5 million plant facilities levy passed with 72 percent backing, the Idaho State Journal reported. The vote was 398-155.
  • Emmett: Patrons approved a two-year, $2.8 million supplemental levy, with a 63 percent majority.
  • Troy: Voters turned down a one-year, $1.2 million supplemental levy. The proposal received only 44 percent support. Voters rejected a $1.3 million proposal in March.
  • Sugar-Salem: A two-year, $900,000 supplemental levy barely received the simple majority required to pass. The tally was 275 in favor, 271 opposed.
  • Whitepine: A one-year, $850,000 supplemental levy passed with 60 percent support.
  • Marsing: Voters approved a two-year, $800,000 supplemental levy. It was the first supplemental levy sought by the district since at least 1974, the Owyhee Avalanche reported.
  • Ririe: A two-year, $770,000 supplemental levy passed with 71 percent support, the Post Register reported.
  • Parma: A two-year, $700,000 supplemental levy passed with 79 percent support.
  • Horseshoe Bend: A two-year, $600,000 supplemental levy passed with 70 percent support, KIVI TV reported. An identical levy narrowly failed in March.
  • Salmon River: Voters approved a one-year, $545,000 supplemental levy with 75 percent support.
  • Nezperce: A one-year, $475,000 supplemental levy passed with a 66 percent majority, the Lewiston Tribune reported.
  • Cottonwood: A one-year, $350,000 supplemental levy passed with 71 percent backing.
  • Butte County: Voters approved a one-year, $330,000 school bond extension with an 82 percent supermajority, according to the Post Register.
  • Kamiah: A one-year, $325,000 supplemental levy went down to an overwhelming defeat, receiving just 30 percent support.
  • South Lemhi: A 10-year, $200,000 plant facilities levy received a 93 percent landslide, the Post Register reported.
  • North Gem-Grace consolidation: Patrons in the two Southeast Idaho districts rejected a proposal to combine the districts, the Idaho State Journal reported.

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Tourism’s Role Differs Across State

Tourism is a major industry in the United States, and Idaho is no exception. According to the Idaho Department of Commerce from the U.S. Travel Association, Idaho’s tourism industry is a $3.4 billion job-creating engine.

A report produced by the Idaho Department of Commerce found tourist spending totaled $1.77 billion in 2010 statewide. But gross sales receipts indicate that tourism-related spending is not spread evenly throughout the state. Seven counties claimed 74 percent of that spending. Ada County alone takes in 33 percent.

Top Seven Idaho Counties

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Employers Value Soft Skills

Employers have been reporting a decline in the overall level of soft job skills in the state’s workforce, particularly among those in their teens and 20s. The Idaho Department of Labor office recently held a seminar on soft skills at its Pocatello office in response.

“The goal was for those currently working and job seekers to gain a better understanding of what soft skills are and what they could do to improve their own marketability,” workforce consultant Beth Larson said.

Often referred to as an employee’s work ethic, soft skills refer to a cluster of personal qualities, habits, attitudes and social graces that make someone a good employee and compatible to work with according to Kate Lorenz of careerbuilder.com.

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Idaho Private Postsecondary Schools Show Significant Job Growth

Between 2004 and 2014 private educational services grew significantly in Idaho. During that decade educational services added more than 2,200 jobs – an increase of 54 percent.

The sector includes both profit and nonprofit businesses that provide education and training – private elementary and high schools, colleges, professional schools, automobile driving schools, tutoring businesses and fine arts academies. Public, government-operated educational institutions are not included.

Private colleges, universities and professional schools in Idaho saw employment jump 270 percent – nearly 800 – between 2004 and 2014. This represented the bulk of the sector’s growth and compared to just 23 percent growth nationally.

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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.

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