Tag Archives: Wages

Methods of calculating Idaho’s wage and income data

Income is a foundational metric for assessing the economic health of Idaho’s households and workers across time, making geographic comparisons and directly comparing household income flows to expenses. However, income data can often be confusing, because it is provided by various official agencies using different methods.

Defining key terms

Important data related to income is published by the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Broadly speaking, the data from these three agencies varies by source, estimation basis and their definition of income (Figure 1). Continue reading →

Learn about Idaho’s economy and how income is measured during Labor webinar

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: April 29, 2026
Media Contact: Samuel.Wolkenhaur@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho Department of Labor Research Analyst Supervisor Sam Wolkenhauer will discuss how income is measured and what those measurements reveal about the ways Idaho is changing during a webinar Tuesday, May 5.

Income is measured in a variety of ways including household income, wages and salary and total personal income. These measures paint a picture about the dynamic changes ongoing in Idaho, including the state’s demographics and economic growth. This webinar will also explore what the income data tells us about Idaho’s urbanization and housing market.

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Economic snapshot: A look at Idaho’s full-service restaurant industry

Full-Service Restaurants have a significant impact on Idaho’s economy. In 2025, the National Restaurant Association estimated that Idaho’s Full-Service Restaurants provided $2.76 billion in direct economic output and employs more than 28,500 people. This is 3% of Idaho’s overall employment.1

Full-Service Restaurants are restaurants with a waitstaff and offer a dining experience with table service, compared with Limited-Service Restaurants which customers generally take the food to go and there is no table service, such as a fast-food restaurant.

Full-Service Restaurant in Idaho experienced disproportionate employment drops during the pandemic compared with total employment. This was due to people not going out as much to eat. While the state’s overall total employment declined 10.2% from 2019 to 2020 due to the pandemic, Full-Service Restaurant employment declined by a larger 14.3%. Since then, the industry in Idaho stagnated from 2023-2024 (shown in Figure 1) and has not returned to the level it was before the pandemic.

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International trade drives Idaho’s wages and employment

Idaho’s economy depends heavily on international markets for the goods and services it produces. The impact of international trade is visible in the state’s growing network of foreign trade partners, rising export volumes and the associated gains in jobs and wages. Tracking these trends helps illustrate how global trade markets influence Idaho’s economy.

Idaho’s international trade partners

As of 2024, Idaho exports to 205 nations. However, the majority of Idaho’s goods and services are sold only to a select few nations, as shown in Figure 1. Canada has been the state’s largest importer at $13.4 billion in sales revenue since 2014, averaging $1.2 billion annually. Continue reading →

The rising cost of living in Idaho limits labor force availability

Idaho’s economy has grown rapidly over the past decade, yet the benefits of growth have not been evenly distributed. While Idaho’s poverty rate is the 15th lowest in the nation at 10.6% ¹ and unemployment remains low, many Idahoans continue to struggle with the rising cost of living.

Median home prices in Idaho have more than doubled since 2016, and rents have risen at one of the fastest rates in the nation.² Combined with higher costs for essentials such as food, child care and transportation, even full-time workers often find themselves increasingly burdened by the rising cost of living.

Poverty and rising costs of living have significant impacts on the labor force, from high mortgage rates constraining labor mobility to the rising cost of raising a family depressing the birthrate.

Continue reading →

Idaho’s average hourly wage increases 5.1% in 2024

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Aug. 25, 2025
Media Contact: Will.Hoenike@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s average wage for all occupations in 2024 was $28.10 per hour, according to recently released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wages Statistics (OEWS) program. This amounts to an increase of 5.1%, or $1.35 per hour, from 2023.

The median wage, representing the midpoint between lowest and highest earners, also rose from $21.27 per hour in 2023 to $22.34 per hour in 2024 — a 5% increase over the year.

Six out of seven Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in Idaho had average and median wage increases in 2024. The Pocatello MSA experienced the largest increase with both average and median hourly wage growing by over $2 per hour. Continue reading →

Rising cost of child care affects Idaho’s labor market

Child care is a question thousands of parents across Idaho must answer. Prices for child care have increased since 2020 and instability in the child care sector has resulted in thousands of Idahoans going part time or leaving the workforce to fill the gap.

While not the sole contributing factor, the cost of child care remains a major barrier for a significant portion of Idaho’s potential labor force.

Idaho is still experiencing historic labor market tightness despite recent softening. From January to December 2024, the unemployment rate in Idaho increased from 3.3% to 3.8% while the U.S. rate increased from 3.7% to 4.1%. Continue reading →

Idaho’s meteorologists earn 14% more than the national median

Every year on February 2, our nation’s esteemed animal meteorologist, Punxsutawney Phil, lets the country know if he predicts an early spring or six more weeks of winter.

Meanwhile, local atmospheric and space scientists (Standard Occupational Classification 19-2021), including meteorologists, weather analysts and forecasters, continue to study and predict Idaho’s weather on a daily and long-term basis. Continue reading →

National Bagel Day: Idaho bakers’ wages and employment on the rise

Today, bagel lovers rise to the occasion to celebrate National Bagel Day. This annual celebration is only possible due to the tireless efforts of bakers (Standard Occupational Code of 51-3011).

In Idaho, the median wages and employment for bakers have been on a roll in recent years. In 2023, the median hourly wage for this job was $15.34 — an increase of 31.1% from $11.70 in 2018. Similarly, estimated employment was 1,330 in 2023 — up from 900 in 2018. Continue reading →

Idaho’s labor markets normalize and project further growth

Idaho’s economy and labor market experienced extreme and varied conditions in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 sparked an unprecedented burst of job losses, pushing unemployment to record levels in Idaho and across the nation. However, the return to normal economic activity in 2022 left Idaho employers rushing to refill the jobs temporarily lost during the pandemic, resulting in open job postings rising to nearly 80,000 by the summer of 2022.

Within the span of a few years, Idaho experienced record levels of both unemployment and unfilled jobs, reaching both extremes of the labor market. Idaho reached its highest ever level of unemployment in April 2020 at 11.8%, before plunging to its lowest unemployment rate in history in April 2022 at 2.7%. Continue reading →