Regional labor market information

• Labor demand in northern Idaho remained largely stable in October 2024, with a total of 1,903 unique job postings in the region — a slight increase from 1,860 in September. The unemployment rate stayed stable from September to October at 4.8% but saw a year-over-year increase from October 2023’s rate of 4.1%. Both the total labor force and total employment remain above their 2023 levels for October.  

Figure 1.

Northern Idaho seasonally adjusted data	Oct-24 (P)	Sept-24 (R)	Oct-23 (B)
Civilian labor force	129,095	128,770	127,182
Total employment	122,846	122,584	121,922
Unemployment	6,249	6,186	5,260
% of labor force unemployed	4.8%	4.8%	4.1%
Source: Idaho Department of Labor	P – Preliminary, R – Revised, B – Benchmarked

Figure 2.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in northern Idaho	Postings, Oct-24	Postings, Oct-23
Registered nurses	91	79
Retail salespersons	82	52
Home health and personal care aides	63	39
Unclassified occupations	46	48
Laborers, freight, stock, material movers and hand	42	45
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	34	29
Medical and health services managers	29	38
Fast food and counter workers	28	18
Customer service representatives	27	48
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	26	19
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Figure 3.

Top 10 industries by job unique postings in northern Idaho	Postings, Oct-24	Postings, Oct-23
Health care and social assistance	323	234
Retail trade	270	207
Administrative and support services	217	175
Manufacturing	103	94
Accommodation and food services	90	102
Professional, scientific and technical services	78	89
Finance and insurance	66	89
Wholesale trade	65	53
Other services (except public administration)	63	38
Educational services	51	34
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Figure 4.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in northern Idaho	Median duration, Oct-24	Median duration, Oct-23
Title examiners, abstractors and searchers	29	N/A
Physical therapist aides	27	N/A
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	26	N/A
Traffic technicians	26	N/A
Claims adjusters, examiners and investigators	25	N/A
Cooks and restaurant workers	25	19
Financial examiners	25	N/A
Construction and building inspectors	24	N/A
Lodging managers	24	N/A
Farm and home management educators	23	10
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Regional news

Kootenai County

• The North Point Plaza development is under construction on Highway 41 north of Post Falls. Early tenants will include a 7-Eleven opening December and a Grocery Outlet store in early 2025. Four additional parcels are available for tenants. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
• A new Indigo Urgent Care is under construction in Hayden. Indigo currently operates a network of urgent cares across the inland northwest, including in Coeur d’Alene. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
• A mixed used building named the “Nonna” is under development in Post Falls, with commercial space on the ground floor and 33 apartments on the upper three floors. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Openings

• Chipotle (Post Falls)
• Trader Joe’s (Coeur d’Alene)
• Joyful Journey Childcare (Hayden)
• Premiere Aesthetics (Post Falls)
• Boost Espresso (Coeur d’Alene)
• Paris Vintage (Coeur d’Alene)
• Pete Paws Resort 9 (Coeur d’Alene)
• Farwest Steel (Post Falls)
• SMP Ink CDA (Coeur d’Alene)
• Hair’s The Thing (Coeur d’Alene)
• Treehouse Restaurant (Coeur d’Alene)
• Armory Outpost (Hayden)
• Divine Nails & Spa (Coeur d’Alene)
• Honeysuckle Suites (Hayden)
• La Pinata (Post Falls)
• MAC Physical Therapy (Post Falls)
• Orchid Nails & Spa (Coeur d’Alene)

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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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