Regional news

Regional labor market information

Figure 1.

Southeastern Idaho, seasonally adjusted data	Dec-25 (P)	Nov-25 (R)	Dec-24 (B)
Civilian labor force	87,878	87,395	87,035
Total employment	84,741	84,273	83,696
Unemployment	3,137	3,122	3,339
Percentage of labor force unemployed	3.6%	3.6%	3.8%
Source: Idaho Department of Labor	P – Preliminary	R – Revised	B – Benchmarked

• There has been no new monthly labor force data to report. 2026 labor force data will not be released until the 2025 benchmarking process is complete. The next monthly labor force data release is expected to occur in April and May 2026.

Figure 2.

Southeastern Idaho job postings	Feb-26	Feb-25
Unique postings	2,291	1,502
Days posted	21	23
Number of employers	577	319
Average hourly wage	$21.48	$24.18
Percentage of postings with advertised wage	37%	33%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Employers and unique postings in the region have both increased while the average number of days a posting remained open as well as the average wage for those postings has decreased. The Conference Board changed how it accounts for postings in May 2025 so some of this data might not be directly comparable to the previous year’s numbers.

Figure 3.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in southeastern Idaho	Postings, Feb-26	Postings, Feb-25
Registered Nurses	97	60
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	92	55
Retail Salespersons	68	50
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	55	18
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	45	31
Customer Service Representatives	44	15
Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers, Hand	39	25
Cashiers	35	10
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery and Greenhouse	34	76
Fast Food and Counter Workers	32	21
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Top occupations remained similar to January with Registered Nurses, Farmworkers, Fast Food and Counter Workers and Retail Salespersons all remaining on the list. Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers, Hand did see elevated postings from an increase of warehouse hirings.

Figure 4.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in southeastern Idaho	Postings, Feb-26	Postings, Feb-25
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	286	142
Limited-Service Restaurants	84	22
Elementary and Secondary Schools	68	3
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (Except Convenience Stores)	66	34
Engineering Services	60	71
Home Health Care Services	45	16
Credit Unions	40	46
Colleges, Universities and Professional Schools	39	47
Other General Government Support	39	55
Commercial and Institutional Building Construction	30	29
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Limited-Service Restaurants maintained elevated postings along with Elementary Schools and Supermarkets. Construction was elevated on par with seasonal trends for February.

Figure 5.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in southeastern Idaho	Median duration, Feb-26	Unique postings, Feb-26
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants	58	1
Surgical Technologists	57	6
Tax Preparers	55	1
Dishwashers	54	7
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters	54	1
Fishing and Hunting Workers	51	7
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers and Weighers	49	8
Network and Computer Systems Administrators	47	12
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant	46	1
Loan Interviewers and Clerks	46	6
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Network and Computer Systems Administrators saw the longest time unfilled with a median posting duration of 47 days and 12 postings for the region. Other hard to fill postings had relatively lower total postings with only one listed posting for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant; Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters; Tax Preparers and Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. None of the listed occupations made it on the most in-demand occupation list.

Regional news

Bannock County

• The Southeast Idaho Transportation Company acquired Yellowstone Transportation to consolidate regional services. Source: East Idaho News

• The Fort Hall Mine Landfill is building a new entrance to accommodate extra lanes of traffic. Source: Idaho State Journal

• Inkom is getting new high-speed internet through Optix, a subsidiary of Direct Communications. This is part of an initiative to connect more rural communities, including Rexburg. The company said future candidates might reside in Grace, Aberdeen and Blackfoot. Source: East Idaho News

Bingham County

• Spudnik in Blackfoot conducted layoffs to address shrinking demand for agricultural equipment. Spudnik expects 2026 will be difficult for the industry and is slowing production. Source: Idaho State Journal

Caribou County

• The former Grace Theater on Main Street is being renovated. The space will be converted into a multi-use building. The stage and seating areas will be converted into a warehouse for the owner’s construction business while the entry room will be converted into a clinic for Nature’s Grace Precision Health. There will also be classrooms for rent and the upstairs of the building will be converted into an Airbnb. Source: The News Examiner

Regional openings

• Buckle reopened in the new Pine Ridge Mall in Pocatello.

• Premier Eye Care will open a second location in Pocatello offering ophthalmology services.

• Modern Home, a furniture store, is coming to Pocatello.

• Crispy Cones ice cream shop opened in Pocatello.

Regional closings

• Grocery Outlet Bargain Market closed in Pocatello.

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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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