Regional news

Regional labor market information

Figure 1.

Eastern Idaho job postings	Oct-25	Oct-24
Unique postings	3,973	2,587
Days posted	19	30
Number of employers	843	463
Average hourly wage	$22.46	$25.91
Percentage of postings with advertised wage	47%	39%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• There were an estimated 3,973 deduplicated job postings in the eastern Idaho labor market for October 2025 (regional online job postings data and not necessarily job openings data). The number of postings is a 7% increase from 3,712 the prior month and a 54% decrease year over year.

Figure 2.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in eastern Idaho	Postings, Oct-25	Postings, Oct-24
Registered nurses	186	72
Retail salespersons	133	126
Customer service representatives	100	60
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	95	98
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	78	71
Personal care aides	63	18
Stockers and order fillers	59	18
Maintenance and repair workers, general	51	21
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	50	36
Fast food and counter workers	50	12
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Most of the top 10 regional occupations by unique job postings did not change over the month. Personal care aides and fast food and counter workers were new to the list this month. Employer hiring demand, based on quantity of job postings, increased over the month by 11% for first-line supervisors of retail sales workers. Hiring demand decreased for all other occupations and three did not change.

Figure 3.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in eastern Idaho	Postings, Oct-25	Postings, Oct-24
Health care and social assistance	662	378
Retail trade	487	361
Professional, scientific and technical services	367	431
Manufacturing	250	206
Construction	210	120
Accommodation and food services	195	51
Educational services	191	207
Wholesale trade	176	151
Transportation and warehousing	151	60
Finance and insurance	138	85
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Construction replaced administrative and support, waste management and remediation services in the top five regional industries by quantity of job postings for October. Hiring demand based on total unique job postings increased 4% over the month in both manufacturing and professional, scientific and technical services industries. Finance and insurance saw a 19% increase. Construction also increased by 22%. Decreases occurred in all the other top industries, including 18% in wholesale trade, 17% in educational services, 9% in health care and social assistance and 8% in retail trade. 

Figure 4.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho	Median duration (days), Oct-25	Unique postings, Oct-25
Driver and sales workers	39	45
Food service managers	36	34
Nurse practitioners	35	21
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical and executive	33	28
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners	32	46
Tellers	32	27
Construction laborers	32	25
Retail salespersons	31	31
Personal care aides	29	63
Pharmacy technicians	29	32
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Hardest-to-fill occupations in the eastern Idaho region for October, by highest median job posting duration and multiple unique job postings, included personal care aides, driver and sales workers, as well as janitors and cleaners. Hardest-to-fill job posting challenges in October by occupational family were sales and related. All occupations added to the hardest-to-fill jobs list in October were new, except construction laborers and tellers.

Regional news

• Idaho Falls Regional Airport set a new year-to-date new passenger record, exceeding 316,000. The airport anticipates over 360,000 passenger enplanements by the end of the calendar year. Growth is being driven by more flights to Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake City and other new destinations, as well as a larger aircraft. Source: KIFI

• Oklo Inc. announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved the Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for its Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility at Idaho National Laboratory — the first such approval under the DOE’s Fuel Line Pilot Projects. This rapid approval demonstrates a new authorization pathway that could accelerate U.S. industrial capacity, enhance national energy security and streamline scaling of advanced nuclear technologies. Source: Business Wire

• Brigham Young University-Idaho reported the largest fall enrollment in school history. On-campus enrollment is at 24,500 students, a near 7% increase from last fall. An additional 22,000 students take online classes with BYU-Pathway Worldwide, with total enrollment at 46,500. This led to a 5% increase over the year. Source: BYU-Idaho

• The Museum of Idaho received a $50,000 cultural institution donation from Oklo Inc., an advanced nuclear technology company. Source: KIFI

• The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho in Idaho Falls announced construction plans for a new education center. Source: KIFI

• The College of Eastern Idaho (CEI) in Idaho Falls made $540,000 in budget cuts to community college allocation and career technical education. Caps in enrollment and program wait lists are likely. CEI will pause hiring for instructor and student services positions as it considers whether to consolidate other positions or reevaluate roles if vacancies occur. The college has grown by about 250% since becoming a community college seven years ago. Source: KTVB

• The active inventory of homes for sale in the Idaho Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area increased by 25% over the year. Area home prices have decreased by 2% since this time last year as home buying demand has also fallen. Source: Realtor.com Inventory Core Metrics

Bonneville County

• The Community Hospital Corporation Foundation in Idaho Falls awarded over $500,000 in eastern Idaho educational grants. Promise Ridge, Idaho Falls Symphony, College of Eastern Idaho, Snake River Animal Shelter, Idaho Falls Youth Hockey Association, Edgemont Elementary School, Eastern Idaho Community Action Partnership, the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho and Snake River Youth Performing Arts were beneficiaries of a portion of funding. Source: Post Register

• Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and Idaho Falls Power agreed on a 20-year power supply contract. Idaho Falls Power operates four city-owned hydroelectric plants on the Snake River, which generate about one-third of the city’s electricity. Most of the remaining power comes from BPA, which distributes energy from federally owned dams. Source: Post Register

Butte County

• The Community Hospital Corporation Foundation in Idaho Falls awarded over $500,000 in eastern Idaho educational grants.  Arco Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7137 were beneficiaries of a portion of funding. Source: Post Register

Custer County

• A conditional use permit to build an RV park on 10 acres along Highway 93 was approved. Source: Challis Messenger

• The Community Hospital Corporation Foundation in Idaho Falls awarded over $500,000 in eastern Idaho educational grants.  Custer Soil and Water Conservation District were beneficiaries of a portion of funding. Source: Post Register

• New geological research at Electra Battery Materials’ Iron Creek cobalt project began with the Center to Advance the Science of Exploration to Reclamation in Mining at the Colorado School of Mines. It will expand on earlier trial studies that used short-wave infrared imaging to identify zones of cobalt and copper mineralization to guide future drill target areas. Source: Challis Messenger

Fremont County

• The Community Hospital Corporation Foundation in Idaho Falls awarded over $500,000 in eastern Idaho educational grants. Henry’s Fork Foundation and North Fremont Fire District, Inc. were beneficiaries of a portion of funding. Source: Post Register

Jefferson County

• The Community Hospital Corporation Foundation in Idaho Falls awarded over $500,000 in eastern Idaho educational grants.  Friends of the Menan Annis Grant Library were beneficiaries of a portion of funding. Source: Post Register

Lemhi County

• Drilling resumed at the Beartrack-Arnett gold mining site operated by Revival Gold. Initial drill results from the Sharkey and Joss target areas are expected in December. Source: Challis Messenger

Madison County

• The Community Hospital Corporation Foundation in Idaho Falls awarded over $500,000 in eastern Idaho educational grants.  The City of Rexburg and Ballet Etude Academy were beneficiaries of a portion of funding. Source: Post Register

• Madison School District 321 administration buildings and surrounding property in downtown Rexburg are being sold to the city, county and Rexburg Urban Renewal Agency for $7 million toward future development. The sale of the six-acre property will close April 2026. Source: East Idaho News

Teton County

• The Community Hospital Corporation Foundation in Idaho Falls awarded over $500,000 in eastern Idaho educational grants.  The Community Resource Center of Teton Valley, Teton Valley Health Care Foundation and Teton Valley Collaborative for Early Learning were beneficiaries of a portion of funding. Source: Post Register

• There was an affirmative vote to auction 160 acres of state trust land in Tetonia, the Idaho Department of Land trust’s second round of voting on the sale. The sale is intended to generate revenue for the state’s endowment fund and terminates a grazing lease. Source: Jackson Hole News & Guide

• The city of Victor voted to annex 80 acres of farmland. It will be rezoned as 40 acres to civic and institutional for a water treatment plant and the other half to residential for future homes. Source: Jackson Hole News & Guide

Regional openings

• Grand Peaks, a new medical clinic providing medical, dental, pharmacy and behavioral health services, opened in Idaho Falls.

• Franklin Building Supply, a Boise-based lumber firm, opened a new location in Idaho Falls.

• The Drawbridge, a family-friendly shuffleboard bar, opened in Idaho Falls.

• A new 24-hour gym, Fit 1, opened in Idaho Falls.

• Wild As You, a new clothing boutique, opened inside the Rogers building in Idaho Falls.

• Reed’s Dairy held a grand reopening of their newly rebuilt production facility in Idaho Falls after a fire destroyed the original structure two years ago.

• OrthoPro, an establishment that provides customized prosthetic limbs, opened in Idaho Falls.

• Rad Rays Karts, a new indoor go-cart race track, opened in Idaho Falls.

• Stella’s Ice Cream opened in Ammon.

• A new Auto Zone retailer opened in Ammon.

• Project LeanNation, a healthy prepared meal franchise, opened in Ammon.

• Rigby Swim Venue opened in Rigby, offering swimming pools and private party space.

• Modern Hippie apothecary and herb shop opened a second location, this time in Rigby.

• A new restaurant, Rigby’s Patty Shack, opened in Rigby.

• A new bookstore, Between the Covers, opened in Rigby.

• Bramwell Animal Hospital opened in Rigby.

• The Neutral Zone, a 67,000 square foot indoor ice rink also housing skate rentals, party rooms and concessions, opened in Rexburg.

• Excel Physical Therapy leased 2,000 square feet of retail space in Driggs.

• The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce announced ribbon cuttings and/or groundbreaking ceremonies at 208 Outlets, Garner Hotel by IHG, The Heart Event Center, TechTen Integrations, Yellowstone Cigar Company, Reed’s Dairy production facility, American Staffing Inc., Project LeanNation, Franklin Building Supply and Pelios Academy. These establishments either opened their doors within the past six months, moved to a new location due to expansion, have remodeled or expanded their current location.

• Rexburg Chamber of Commerce announced ground breakings and ribbon cuttings for Gemstone Powder Coating LLC, Brave Seeker Books and Custom Creatures Pet Club.

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This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY26 as part of the Workforce Information grant (41%) and state/nonfederal funds (59%) totaling $860,595.

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