Regional labor market information

• Labor demand in northern Idaho increased in January 2025, with a total of 1,916 unique job postings in the region – an increase from 1,390 in November. The increase is consistent with past seasonal trends with January conventionally seeing an increase over December, however labor demand is 9% higher than it was at the same time last year, when postings totaled 1,755 in January 2024. The unemployment rate increased slightly from 4.7% to 4.8% and remains higher than in December 2023. Due to Bureau of Labor Statistics benchmarking work, which occurs in January each year, there is no update to labor force and unemployment statistics for January.

Figure 1.

Northern Idaho seasonally adjusted data	December-24 (P)	November-24 (R)	December-23 (B)
Civilian labor force	130,789	129,172	127,946
Total employment	124,474	123,097	122,592
Unemployment	6,315	6,075	5,354
% of Labor force unemployed	4.8%	4.7%	4.2%
Source: Idaho Department of Labor	P – Preliminary, R – Revised, B – Benchmarked

Figure 2.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in northern Idaho	Postings, January-25	Postings, January-24
Registered nurses	69	85
Retail salespersons	61	54
Unclassified occupation	50	52
Customer service representatives	49	45
Home health and personal care aides	42	26
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	38	29
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	30	21
Food service managers	28	12
Medical and health services managers	28	28
General and operations managers	27	14
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Figure 3.

Top 10 industries by job unique postings in northern Idaho	Postings, January-25	Postings, January-24
Health care and social assistance	303	275
Retail trade	199	230
Administrative and support services	181	173
Accommodation and food services	122	79
Manufacturing	101	109
Professional, scientific, and technical services	90	95
Construction	72	43
Finance and insurance	72	113
Wholesale trade	69	68
Other services	49	41
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Figure 4.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in northern Idaho	Median duration Jan-25	Median duration Jan-24
Home health and personal care aides	30	N/A
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	30	N/A
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific Products	30	N/A
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	30	N/A
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	30	N/A
Construction managers	30	N/A
Bakers	30	N/A
Tree trimmers and pruners	30	N/A
Food service managers	29	N/A
Receptionists and information clerks	29	N/A
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Regional news

• Avista Utilities, a keystone provider of electric and natural gas utilities in the panhandle, has filed a proposal with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission that would raise rates for Idaho customers. As currently proposed, electric rates in Idaho would increase by 14% in September followed by a 5% increase in 2026, while natural gas would increase 10% and 1% in 2025 and 2026 respectively. Avista stated the proposed increases are intended to cover ongoing investment in infrastructure. Source: Journal of Business

Kootenai County

• North Idaho College (NIC) received sanctions relief from its accrediting agency, with the college’s multi-year show cause sanction reduced to a probationary status. The move to probation grants a one-year extension for NIC to return to compliance, and a letter from the accrediting body noted improvement on a majority of the college’s noncompliance issues. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

• Work on the multi-year project to replace the State Highway 411 and Interstate 90 interchange in Post Falls is proceeding to the next phase, after a productive winter helped by relatively mild weather. The Idaho Transportation Department will close the current westbound off-ramp with detours and temporary rerouting as they move on to the next phase. Construction has been underway since 2022 and the new interchange is slated for completion in 2026. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

• The Coeur d’Alene School Board approved a new Early Plus program to expand preschool opportunities in the school district and improve kindergarten readiness. The new program will be located in the former Borah Elementary School building, after the school was closed last year. Half of the building is currently occupied by the Coeur d’Alene Early Learning Center, which serves children with special needs from ages three to five. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

• The city of Rathdrum has unveiled plans for a new $15 million city hall which will consolidate municipal departments into a single facility, located on a 30-acre community campus. The 30,000-square-foot building will house the city’s council, administration, police and parks and recreation departments, with a nearby shop facility housing the street crew and water and sewer department. Source: Journal of Business

Openings

• Mailbox Club (Hayden)

• Planet Terra (Dalton Gardens)

• Kootenai Vision Center (Post Falls)

• Kraken Coral & Coffee (Post Falls)

 

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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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