Regional labor market information
- Labor force estimates for December 2024 from the Idaho Department of Labor’s Local Area Unemployment Statistics have total employment increasing, but unemployment decreasing in the nine-county eastern region. Seasonally adjusted, December preliminary estimates have labor force participants increasing by 1,609, with 1,653 more employed people and 44 fewer unemployed people. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the region held at 3.2% since last month and 0.6 percentage points higher than December 2023.
| Eastern Idaho, seasonally adjusted data | Dec-24 (P) | Nov-24 (P) | Dec-23 (B) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civilian labor force | 134,837 | 133,228 | 128,810 |
| Total employment | 130,582 | 128,929 | 125,522 |
| Unemployment | 4,255 | 4,299 | 3,288 |
| % of labor force unemployed | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.6 |
| P – Preliminary, R – Revised, B – Benchmarked Source: Idaho Department of Labor |
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- There were an estimated 2,534 unique, deduplicated job postings in the eastern Idaho labor market for December 2024, according to The Conference Board: Help Wanted Online (this is regional online job postings data and not necessarily job openings data.) The 2,534 postings are a 170% increase from 941 the prior month and a 6% year-over-year increase from 2,388. Registered nurses remained the top occupation of unique job postings in the region for December. New to the top occupations by quantity of job postings this month were retail supervisors, radiologic technicians and general operations managers. Employer hiring demand based on quantity of job postings increased by a wide margin for all occupations in the top 10 since last month.
| Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in eastern Idaho, December 2024 | Postings |
|---|---|
| Registered nurses | 125 |
| Retail salespersons | 98 |
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | 79 |
| Hand laborers, freight, stock and material movers | 63 |
| First-line supervisors of retail sales workers | 59 |
| Customer service representatives | 47 |
| Merchandise displayers and window trimmers | 37 |
| General maintenance and repair workers | 33 |
| Radiologic technologists and technicians | 28 |
| General and operations managers | 26 |
| Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast | |
- Manufacturing replaced finance and insurance in the top five of regional industries by quantity of job postings this month. Industry hiring demand by total job postings nearly tripled across the board over the month.
| Top industries by job unique postings in eastern Idaho, December 2024 | Postings |
|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 410 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 312 |
| Retail trade | 269 |
| Administrative, support, waste management and remediation services | 204 |
| Manufacturing | 168 |
| Educational services | 164 |
| Wholesale trade | 142 |
| Construction | 99 |
| Finance and insurance | 94 |
| Public administration | 70 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 62 |
| Accommodation and food services | 50 |
| Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast | |
- December data on the hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho, by highest median job posting duration and multiple unique job postings, include heavy truck drivers, electrical engineers, bus and truck mechanics and sales managers. December’s hardest-to-fill job postings by occupational family were the transportation and material moving, health care practitioners, technical and management occupations. All occupations were new to this month’s hardest-to-fill jobs list, except heavy truck drivers.
| Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho, December 2024 | Days to fill | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical engineers | 50 | 17 |
| Bus, truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists | 48 | 14 |
| Sales managers | 42 | 20 |
| Tellers | 41 | 20 |
| Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers and weighers | 41 | 16 |
| Nurse practictioners | 39 | 15 |
| Information security engineers | 39 | 12 |
| Critical care nurses | 37 | 13 |
| Project management specialists | 36 | 15 |
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | 35 | 79 |
| Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast | ||
Regional news
- The Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium (IAEC) was awarded a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration through the Good Jobs Challenge program. IAEC’s Advanced Nuclear Workforce Ecosystem projects also received in-kind contributions of $1.8 million. The funds will support the Intermountain-West Nuclear Energy Corridor tech hub regional workforce ecosystem, focused on accelerating the advanced nuclear energy industry. The funds will also be distributed among College of Eastern Idaho, Idaho State University, Idaho Workforce Development Council and Idaho National Laboratory to enhance nuclear technician training, nuclear trades curriculum and transitional workforce training opportunities. Source: Idaho Business Review
- The Teton Pass Shuttle, a project of Teton Backcountry Alliance, reported a record number of people so far this winter with skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers and others utilizing its ride service to access the backcountry. Source: Buckrail
- Teton Regional Land Trust works across eastern Idaho to help protect natural spaces, agricultural lands and wildlife habitat through voluntary conservation easements on private land. The trust launched a new program to assist landowners of working agricultural lands with succession planning to keep working lands with new generations of agriculture producers. Source: Teton Valley News
- The Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA) had another record year in 2024 as passenger traffic increased 12% year over year with 73% more passengers taking flights than in 2019. Five airlines currently service IDA, offering direct flights to nine cities. Source: KIFI and City of Idaho Falls
- According to mountain data from Natural Resources Conservation Services’ Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL), December precipitation data shows Lost River and Little Wood basins were the driest watersheds in Idaho at 80-85% of normal, and total water year precipitation ranged from 65-81% of normal. Snowpack in the Lost and Wood basins ranged from 80-110% of normal, which is better than January 2024 when snowpack was 50-60% of normal. December Salmon River basin precipitation was 80% of normal, and snowpack was 110% of normal. Mackay Reservoir was holding between 80-90% of its normal storage and 42% capacity. Source: Natural Resources Conservation Services
Bonneville County
- A new clinic, Transformative Journey Healthcare, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News
- Reframed Eye, an optometry clinic, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News
- After opening in mid-2023, Chip Cookies in Ammon permanently closed their business. Source: Idaho Department of Labor
- The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce announced ribbon cutting and/or groundbreaking ceremonies at United Way of Idaho Falls and Bonneville County, Reframed Eye and Bonneville County Sherriff’s Office. These establishments either opened their doors within the past six months, moved to a new location due to expansion, or have remodeled or expanded their current location. Source: Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce
- Industrial Ventilation Inc. in Idaho Falls was awarded a $9,000 STEP Year 11 grant by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Administered by Idaho Commerce, the grant is for foreign market sales trips, governor or foreign trade missions and international or domestic trade shows. Source: Idaho Commerce
- A firefighting team and fire engine from Swan Valley were part of 104 firefighters and 25 fire engines from Idaho mobilized to help fight the southern California wildfires. Source: KIFI
- Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office opened new special housing, medical and staff dining areas, in addition to wellness areas. Source: Post Register
- The Greater Idaho Falls Association of Realtors gifted $29,000 towards the Mayor’s Scholarship Fund. Source: KIFI
- Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge has been expanded by 2,496 acres after collaboration between the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a private landowner and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Source: Post Register
Custer County
- The expansion project of new classrooms and a library at Stanley School was completed ahead of schedule. Students moved back in from modular classrooms at the K-8 school. Source: Challis Messenger
- In 2024, the Challis Golf and Recreation Association invested $45,600 into Challis Golf Course, including $16,000 to expand the cart barn, $12,500 for a mower, $8,600 for equipment repairs, $4,000 on general maintenance and $4,000 on security cameras. Source: Challis Messenger
Jefferson County
- The 13,000 square-foot Drop 208 Pickleball Club opened in Rigby. Source: East Idaho News
Madison County
- Rink 99, an ice-skating and hockey establishment, opened in Sugar City. Source: East Idaho News
- Three food trucks — Corndog Company, Lemon Smashers and Dip Stix — consolidated into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Rexburg. Source: East Idaho News
- A new restaurant, Masala Indian Cuisine, opened in Rexburg. Source: East Idaho News
- WinCo grocery store is building in a large new Rexburg development called Squires subdivision and will employ up to 200 people. Source: East Idaho News
- Going the way of automation, the C-A-L Ranch store in Rexburg is piloting a new inventory robot called Simbe’s Tally around the store for gathering restocking and pricing data. The store will implement robots at all 55 stores next year. C-A-L Ranch reports it’s not going to replace employees, but rather free them up for other tasks. Source: KIFI
- Rexburg Soup Kitchen is opening in town using an own-nothing model. It will prepare and serve food brought in by local pantries and locally contracted providers to feed 125 people a day. Source: KIFI
Teton County
- Summit School of the Arts purchased 4,000 square feet of commercial space at Arrowhead Plaza in Driggs. Source: Idaho Business Review
- The city of Victor land that was not included in the area of impact zoning in December, went back into county zoning. Many of the land parcels received different zoning outside of the area of impact. The new boundaries were reduced by 82% or 4,300 acres. This coincides with the utility logistics of the city and considers which parcels could be annexed in the next five years. The city kept similar zones surrounding each other to prevent urban sprawl and contrasting densities and to promote potential growth closer to the city with open spaces toward the foothills. Source: Teton Valley News
- The Teton County Agriculture Protection Areas Commission was established to help producers of agriculture register their land parcels as an Agricultural Protected Area to last 20 years at low cost and high benefit. Farm, ranch and forest land has been going to development because of the difficulty agriculturists have in passing down their land to family without subdividing it. Source: Teton Valley News
- City of Driggs projects for 2025 include new parks or enhancements to parks including Shoshoni Plains, Valley Centre and the skate park. They are also finalizing a master plan for a brand-new park called Woods Creek. Source: Teton Valley News
Eastern Idaho residential real estate statistics – December 2023 and 2024
- Generally, homes are sitting on the market much longer than they did this time last year in most east Idaho counties. Supply is also building up since the inventory of active listings in most local counties is also substantially more than it was this time last year. The only over-the-year price reductions in homes sold were in the three most rural counties and that was relatively very few homes sold. Otherwise, home prices have been holding steady in the region since last year.
| Median price sold | Dec-24 | Dec-23 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonneville | $428,975 | $420,000 | 2.1% |
| Butte | $191,500 | $247,000 | -22.5% |
| Clark | $200,000 | $240,000 | -16.7% |
| Custer | $597,500 | $575,000 | 3.9% |
| Fremont | $750,000 | $699,000 | 7.3% |
| Jefferson | $498,000 | $495,000 | 0.6% |
| Lemhi | $530,000 | $600,000 | -11.7% |
| Madison | $408,725 | $379,900 | 7.6% |
| Teton | $995,000 | $649,500 | 53.2% |
| Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics | |||
| Active listings (inventory) | Dec-24 | Dec-23 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonneville | 385 | 320 | 20.3% |
| Butte | 14 | 21 | -33.3% |
| Clark | 1 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Custer | 35 | 30 | 16.7% |
| Fremont | 91 | 87 | 4.6% |
| Jefferson | 89 | 73 | 21.9% |
| Lemhi | 48 | 40 | 20.0% |
| Madison | 76 | 85 | -10.6% |
| Teton | 121 | 103 | 17.5% |
| Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics | #Colspan# | #Colspan# | #Colspan# |
| Median days on market | Dec-24 | Dec-23 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonneville | 59 | 61 | -3.3% |
| Butte | 138 | 90 | 53.3% |
| Clark | 7 | 131 | -94.7% |
| Custer | 121 | 103 | 17.5% |
| Fremont | 131 | 103 | 27.2% |
| Jefferson | 86 | 78 | 10.3% |
| Lemhi | 105 | 121 | -13.2% |
| Madison | 89 | 54 | 64.8% |
| Teton | 104 | 90 | 15.6% |
| Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics | #Colspan# | #Colspan# | #Colspan# |
| Total homes pending sale | Dec-24 | Dec-23 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonneville | 114 | 116 | -1.7% |
| Butte | 3 | 5 | -40.0% |
| Clark | 1 | 2 | -50.0% |
| Custer | 12 | 2 | 500.0% |
| Fremont | 17 | 18 | -5.6% |
| Jefferson | 27 | 27 | 0.0% |
| Lemhi | 6 | 2 | 200.0% |
| Madison | 25 | 17 | 47.1% |
| Teton | 44 | 58 | -24.1% |
| Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics | |||
This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY25 as part of the Workforce Information grant (40%) and state/nonfederal funds (60%) totaling $885,703.
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