Tag Archives: idaho jobs

Idaho’s July unemployment rate shows slight increase to 2.6%

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Aug. 19, 2022
Media Contact: Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Karen.JarboeSingletary@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.6% in July, up 0.1 percentage points from June.

Map: Idaho counties and July 2022 unemployment rateThe number of Idahoans employed or looking for work grew by 3,938 people (0.4%) to 952,500. Labor force participation increased by 0.1 percentage points between June and July to 62.6%. Idaho’s peak participation rate reached 71.4% in September 1998.

July’s labor force growth was caused by increases in both employed and unemployed persons. Total employment grew by 3,364 (0.4%) to 927,974 while total unemployment increased by 574 (2.4%) to 24,526.

According to Help Wanted Online, there were 63,010 online job postings in Idaho during July, equating to 2.6 job openings for every unemployed Idahoan looking for work.

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Multi-employer job fair set for April 27 in Boise

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: April 21, 2022
Media contact: Joe.Goitiandia@labor.idaho.gov

Employers from several industries will be looking for workers at a job fair Wednesday, April 27, from 1 to 5 p.m., at Taft Elementary School gymnasium, 3722 W. Anderson St., in Boise.

Participating employers include Darigold, DirecTV, Frito Lay, Inn at 400 Capitol, Boise Centre, Roaring Springs, YMCA, Ada County Highway District, Peak Security of Idaho, Valley Regional Transit, Western Power Sport and several more.

Open positions include caregivers, food and beverage servers, production assistant, manager trainee, housekeepers, heavy equipment operator, route sales, transportation coordinator, lifeguards, marketing and communication coordinator and many more.

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Post Falls Labor office hosts job fair with more than 50 employers

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: April 7, 2022
Media Contact: Stacey.Hanlon@labor.idaho.gov

The Idaho Department of Labor’s Post Falls office will host its biggest job fair of the year Wednesday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. More than 50 employers are slated to attend the event, taking place at Real Life Ministries, 1866 N. Cecil Road in Post Falls.

Employers from northern Idaho and Spokane are recruiting for more than 700 openings. Positions with major employers and local businesses offer opportunities such as supervisors, caregivers, technicians, health care professionals, sales personnel, drivers, CDL instructor, manufacturing workers, operations manager and more. 

Historically low unemployment continues to boost wages and the number of openings available.  Continue reading →

Idaho youth continue growing through Idaho Job Corps

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: April 4, 2022
Media Contact: Tina Polishchuk, Ed.D, tina.polishchuk@labor.idaho.gov

When Idaho Job Corps welcomed its first group of students in October 2019 at its first location in Nampa, it was a three-year national demonstration project, piloting a new approach to serving youth. Idaho Job Corps is now readily accessible to Idaho’s youth in four locations across the state.

The overall goal? Eventually Serve 750 income-eligible students, ages 16-24, by training them for the workforce.

photo: girl sitting at computerToday, the program is thriving. Idaho Job Corps and the Idaho Department of Labor partner with the College of Western Idaho, College of Eastern Idaho, College of Southern Idaho and North Idaho College to deliver education, training and a whole host of wrap-around services to low-income students with barriers to employment.

To date, some 145 students have already moved through the program, and Idaho Job Corps is serving 195 students throughout the system – 43 of those enrolled just this year. Continue reading →

Meridian Multi-Employer Job Fair Set for March 30

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 28, 2021
Media Contact: Joe Goitiandia, joe.goitiandia@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho Labor is hosting a multi-employer job fair March 30, from 3 to 6 p.m., at the Wahooz Galaxy Event Center, 400 W. Overland Road in Meridian. 

Employers from across the Treasure Valley are hiring for a variety of positions including TSA officials, office and clerical support staff, light industrial workers, route drivers, heavy equipment operators, maintenance technician, warehouse clerks and loaders, customer service reps, and health care workers like medical assistants, RNs, LPNs, CNAs and others. Continue reading →

McCall Labor Office moves to 1st Street

-Mobile employment services also available in Cascade, Council and New Meadows-

Idahoans living in remote, rural areas of Idaho’s West Central Mountains can now access state employment services in Cascade, Council, McCall and New Meadows.

The Idaho Department of Labor’s McCall mobile office is operating from a new location. Central District Health Department at 701 1st St. in McCall is sharing its space for walk-in Labor customers on Mondays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., (closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch) and on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Additional meeting times are available by appointment.

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Labor expands its employment services in north central Idaho

-Mobile Labor locations now available in Grangeville, Kamiah, Kendrick, Moscow, Potlatch, Orofino and Weippe-

People living in remote, rural areas of north central Idaho can now access Idaho Department of Labor services at seven – soon to be eight – nearby locations.

“Our mobile offices allow us to bring our services to you,” explains Department of Labor Director Jani Revier. “With the help of our partners of local libraries, community centers, city halls and other organization, we’re in more locations than ever before.”

Idahoans throughout the state can now get help finding a new job, upgrading their skills and increasing their earning potential in more than 50 locations. All mobile Labor locations offer walk-in hours and appointments for help with writing resumes, filling out job applications, preparing for an interview, accessing job training resources, filing for unemployment insurance benefits and other services.

Labor services for businesses include support for listing jobs, recruiting employees, organizing hiring events, employer seminars and gaining access to job training programs.

Three local office employees from the Lewiston Idaho Department of Labor office visit Kendrick, Moscow and Potlatch.

The remaining five offices are managed by Monica Jones and Heather Lerandeau. Together, they deliver a wide range of employment services to local job seekers and employers in Orofino, Weippe, Grangeville, Kamiah and Riggins, which opens April 14.

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Idaho’s High Demand for Truckers is Expected to Continue

The nationwide worker shortage in the trucking industry was an issue even before the pandemic. According to U.S. Xpress, one of the nation’s largest truckload carriers, the industry needs at least 80,000 new truckers in the U.S. (*Forbes Jan. 21, 2022 )

In Idaho, truck drivers have long been an in-demand occupation. High demand can at least partially be attributed to the state’s location, making trucking a better option than other forms of transportation.photo: semi trailer truck

Even with the Lewiston seaport, Idaho is basically landlocked and not served by an international airport. Though rail transportation is used for bulk agricultural commodities, seasonal commodity shipments do not allow for consistent rail line contracts.

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Idaho Employment Growth Projected to Continue Through 2023

Idaho’s robust labor market is expected to continue in the short term, according to new projections from the Idaho Department of Labor. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Idaho demonstrated consistent labor market resilience, becoming one of the first states to recover its job losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, and ranking – along with Utah – far ahead of all other states in post-pandemic job growth.

This growth is expected to persist through 2023 as in-migration and a growing demand for services continue to support Idaho’s economic strength.

The department’s newest short term projections forecast roughly 34,000 new jobs to be added in the state through 2023 for a growth rate of 2.1% per year. While almost all Idaho industries are projected to see job gains, rapid growth is expected in industries tied to high in-migration levels, such as construction and sectors still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Construction is projected to add 3,000 new jobs for an annual growth rate of 2.7% as demand for new housing remains high. The fastest projected growth rate, however, is in leisure and hospitality, forecasted to grow at 3.7% annually. This sector, which includes hotels and restaurants, was slower to recover from COVID-19 and therefore has room to re-add jobs lost in 2020.

Short-term job growth in Idaho tableSource: Idaho Department of Labor

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Idaho’s Private Sector Showed Net Job Gains in First Quarter 2021

Idaho private sector job gains exceeded job losses, yielding a net employment gain of 16,217 jobs during the first quarter of 2021.

From December 2020 to March 2021, gross job gains in Idaho totaled 53,979 while gross job losses totaled 37,762.

Figure 1

Graphic of job gains and losses in Idaho 2011-2021 by number

According to the U.S. Business Employment Dynamic (BED) report, both gross job gains and gross job losses declined in Idaho from fourth quarter 2020 (Figure 1).

The BED report, produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, covers job gains and losses at private sector firms and identifies whether the change is due to businesses opening or closing, or increases and decreases in employment at existing firms.

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