Regional news

Northern developments for June were prepared by Labor Economist Lisa Grigg.

Regional labor market information

Figure 1.

Northern Idaho, seasonally adjusted data	May-26 (P)	Apr-26 (R)	May-25 (B)
Civilian labor force	127,583	128,169	128,774
Total employment	121,515	122,461	122,728
Unemployment	6,068	5,708	6,046
Percentage of labor force unemployed	4.8%	4.5%	4.7%
Source: Idaho Department of Labor	P – Preliminary	R – Revised	B – Benchmarked

• While Shoshone County experienced very slight employment gains during the month, it was offset by slight declines in the region’s four remaining counties. The unemployment rate for Shoshone County during May 2026 was 4.9% compared to 5.6% in May 2025.

Figure 2.

Northern Idaho job postings	May-26	May-25
Unique postings	5,578	4,880
Days posted	31	25
Number of employers	1,217	1,089
Average hourly wage	$22.46	$22.00
Percentage of postings with advertised wage	50%	49%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• The northern region had approximately 400 additional new job postings listed during May 2026 compared to both April 2026 and May 2025. During May 2026, job postings had a duration of 31 days compared to only 25 days in May 2025 as online job postings show signs of being active for longer periods of time before being filled or removed.

Figure 3.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in northern Idaho	Postings, May-26	Postings, May-25
Registered Nurses	96	88
Retail Salespersons	79	73
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	69	30
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	58	67
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	49	43
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	38	25
Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers, Hand	38	32
Customer Service Representatives	35	40
Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics	34	19
Medical and Health Services Managers	32	33
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Strong occupational postings continue to gain momentum for healthcare practitioners and support personnel, office and administrative support roles, transportation and material movers and food preparation and serving activities.

Figure 4.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in northern Idaho	Postings, May-26	Postings, May-25
Healthcare and Social Assistance	894	777
Retail Trade	689	646
Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services	489	450
Accommodation and Food Services	409	400
Manufacturing	281	232
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	247	208
Finance and Insurance	211	197
Construction	177	129
Wholesale Trade	174	217
Other Services (Except Public Administration)	140	131
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• May 2026 had higher counts of new postings within Healthcare, Retail, Accommodation and Food Services and Construction. These growth industries were offset by lower new postings within Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade.

Figure 5.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in northern Idaho	Median duration (days), May-26	Unique postings, May-26
Hotel, Motel and Resort Desk Clerks	44	29
Speech-Language Pathologists	43	27
Nursing Assistants	40	66
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers	40	37
Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers	39	81
General and Operations Managers	38	33
Retail Salespersons	37	194
Dishwashers	37	41
Cooks, Fast Food	37	35
Medical and Health Services Managers	35	99
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• The most difficult positions to fill by job posting duration were within sales and related occupations (at 35 days) and arts/design/entertainment/sports/media occupations (at 35 days).

Regional news

• The northern region reported 52 average weekly initial unemployment insurance claims and 474 average weekly continuing claims during May 2026. Initial claim volume decreased 22% from the previous month and 9% from the 57 average weekly initial claims filed in May 2025. Continuing weekly claim volume in the northern region during May decreased 38% from April 2026 and 14% from the 550 average weekly claims in May 2025. Statewide, weekly initial claims decreased 2% from April 2026 and 25% from May 2025. Statewide continuing claims also decreased 19% from last month and 8% from May 2025. Source: Idaho Department of Labor

Benewah County

• The Coeur d’Alene Tribe was selected as one of three national recipients of the 2025 Long-Term Care Joint Venture Construction Program. Under the program, the tribe will cover the cost to construct the Marimn Health Long-Term Care and Skilled Nursing facility while the Indian Health Service will request Congress fund staffing and operations during a 20-year lease. Source: Indian Health Service

Bonner County

• The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality awarded a $1.25 million drinking water construction loan to Cedar Springs Community Water Inc. Funding will go towards a new storage tank and water meters. Source: Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

Kootenai County

• The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality awarded a $2 million low-interest drinking water construction loan to Camp Fire Inland Northwest for a new pump station. Source: Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

• Jacklin Northwest is developing Jacklin Ranch Retail Center in Post Falls with 12 leasable spaces covering 18,000 square feet. The groundbreaking is planned for fall 2026 with completion in 2027. Source: Spokane Journal of Business

• Encompass Health plans to build a 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Post Falls. Construction is planned to be completed in 2028 and will be the second location in Idaho — along with Boise. Source: Encompass Health

• The City of Coeur d’Alene awarded Apollo Inc. a $4.3 million bid to install a one-million-gallon water tank in the city’s northeastern quadrant. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

• Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest will open a second location in Coeur d’Alene in a former Sunshine Minting building. The facility will offer workforce and family services, a retail store, donation center and ecommerce services. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Shoshone County

• The Bunker Hill Mine near Kellogg is on track to restart underground mining operations in June 2026 with a new processing plant and tailings filter facility. Source: Bunker Hill Mining

• Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining grossed over $300 million in proceeds after closing an initial public offering of 23 million shares of common stock. The Sunshine Mine is expected to restart silver and antimony operations in late 2028 with plans for a 24-year mine life. Source: Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining

Regional openings

• Salt and Light Chiropractic, Post Falls

• Fizzy Dirty Sodas, Post Falls

• The Range Market butcher and meat market, Post Falls

• Coyol Cocina & Tequila restaurant, Coeur d’Alene

• The Golden Skewer Mediterranean Grill, Coeur d’Alene

• MODUS Fine Art, Coeur d’Alene

Regional closings

• The Long Ear record store, Coeur d’Alene

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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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