Author: Ryan Whitesides

Regional labor market information

• There were an estimated 3,014 unique job postings in the eastern Idaho labor market for February 2025, according to The Conference Board: Help Wanted Online. (This is regional online job postings data and not necessarily job openings data.) The 3,014 postings are a 4% increase from 2,880 the prior month and a 9% increase from 2,614 year-over-year. Registered nurses remained in the top spot of unique job postings in the region for February. New to the top occupations by quantity of job postings this month were merchandise displayers and civil engineers. Employer hiring demand based on quantity of job postings increased 191% for truck driving, 150% for customer service, 136% for nursing, 108% for sales, 104% for retail supervision, 95% for farm work and 58% for freight and material mover occupations since last month.

Figure 1.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in eastern Idaho, February 2025	Postings
Registered nurses	132
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	99
Crop, nursery, greenhouse farmworkers and laborers	86
Retail salespersons	77
Customer service representatives	65
Physical therapists	61
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	51
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	38
Hand laborers, freight, stock and material movers	38
Civil engineers	37
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• There was no change to the top five regional industries by quantity of job postings since last month. Hiring demand by total unique job postings more than doubled over the month in the top industry categories.

Figure 2.

Top industries by job unique postings in eastern Idaho, February 2025	Postings
Professional, scientific and technical services	364
Health care and social assistance	357
Finance and insurance	294
Retail trade	284
Administrative, support, waste management and remediation services	221
Manufacturing	204
Educational services	163
Wholesale trade	157
Construction	135
Public administration	84
Accommodation and food services	60
Transportation and warehousing	49
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• February hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho, by highest median job posting duration and multiple unique job postings, included heavy truck drivers, civil engineers and construction laborers. Hardest-to-fill job posting challenges in February by occupational family were engineering and health care practitioners. All occupations except construction laborers and management analysts were new to this month’s hardest-to-fill jobs list.

Figure 3.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho, February 2025	Days to fill	Postings
Nuclear engineers	46	22
Fishing and hunting workers	34	26
Civil engineers	33	37
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers and weighers	33	19
Automative service technicians and mechanics	33	17
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	32	100
Construction laborers	32	33
Coaches and scouts	32	24
Nursing assistants	31	26
Management analysts	30	18
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Regional news

• The College of Eastern Idaho’s new program for law enforcement — Peace Officer Standards and Training — has received official approval from the state. The program will launch two academies, detention and patrol, starting April 28. Source: The Post Register

• An Education Superhighway event will be held June 4 – 6. This event will  help students and job seekers learn about career pathways in the region and how to access training. Partners include the following:
  • Idaho State University –  Idaho Falls campus industry programs
  • Teton Toyota – automotive industry.
  • College of Eastern Idaho – medical, skilled trade and law enforcement industries.

Source: Idaho Department of Labor

• The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho in Idaho Falls is partnering with the J.R. Simplot Company to fund facility expansion. It will include a new state-of-the-art education center, additional gallery space and a riverfront gathering area. Source: KIFI

• According to Natural Resources Conservation Services mountain data from SNOTEL, the six runoff basins that comprise eastern Idaho have an average year-to-date snow water equivalent of nearly 100% of median and average year-to-date precipitation of 91% of median. The seasonal outlook forecasts drought conditions to persist in the Salmon River basin over the next three months. Upper Snake basin reservoir system storage is 77% of capacity and 111% of normal as of March 1. The forecast calls for 103% of normal runoff April to July at Upper Snake basin. The Big Lost and Little Lost river basins show slight potential for a shortage of irrigation water. Source: Natural Resources Conservation Services

Bonneville County

• Tropical Smoothie Café opened a second location, this time in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News

• Peak Linen, a health care, manufacturing, food service linen cleaner and servicer, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce

• Park & A Italia restaurant opened in Idaho Falls. Source: Idaho Falls Magazine

• Team Lionheart MMA, a mixed martial arts gym, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News

• A self-service auto salvage yard, Big D Pick & Pull, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News

• Young Mazda opened a new auto dealership in Idaho Falls. Source: KIFI

• Café Zupas restaurant is opening in Ammon. Source: East Idaho News

• CMIT Solutions, a customized information technology (IT) support firm, opened a location in Idaho Falls. Source: Idaho Falls Magazine

• Grand Peaks Medical opened in Idaho Falls, their third clinic location. Source: KIFI

• Teton Music retail store in Ammon is permanently closing. Source: East Idaho News

• The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce announced ribbon cutting and/or groundbreaking ceremonies at Peak Linen and Westmark Credit Union Member Solutions Center. 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

• A new mosque in Ammon is near completion for the Islamic community in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News

Custer County

• The city of Stanley is hiring a firm to help plan and build a low-income workforce housing development on four acres, that the city owns. The project is being funded with $4 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development community project program. Source: The Challis Messenger

Fremont County

• Teton Regional Land Trust completed the purchase of a 320-acre conservation easement in Island Park on the Tom’s Creek property within the Caribou-Targhee National Forest. The land is prime grizzly bear habitat, open grazed land, upland forest and wetland vegetation along springs and creeks. Sources of funding are grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service North American Wetlands Conservation Act, Cross Charitable Foundation, Vital Ground Foundation and private donations. Source: Rexburg Standard Journal

Jefferson County

• Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was allocated $271,500 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for new equipment and vehicles. Source: The Jefferson Star

Lemhi County

• An Australian company, Jervois Mining that operates the Idaho Cobalt Operations project, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is slated to reach a funding and recapitalization agreement with Millstreet Capital Management by April. The changes reportedly won’t disrupt commercial operations or business. Cobalt mined at Jervois is priced at an all-time low. Source: The Challis Messenger

Madison County

• Uptown Plaza Event Center opened in Rexburg. Source: Rexburg Standard Journal

• South Fork Flooring opened in Rexburg. Source: Rexburg Standard Journal

• BYU-Idaho parent university, BYU-Provo, is rolling out a new medical school in two to three years. The School of Medicine Advisory Council consists of 15 working groups and 140 advisers. A working partnership has already been established with Intermountain Health. Source: The Deseret News

• The city of Rexburg has signed a contract with an architect to build a new police station. Source: KIFI

• The Local Highway Technical Assistance Council awarded the city of Rexburg two federal grants to cover the cost to upgrade one street and to improve the city’s traffic signals. Source: Rexburg Standard Journal

• The Rexburg Chamber of Commerce held ribbon cutting ceremonies at Tommy’s Carwash, Cornerstone Caregiving, Masala Indian Cuisine and Uptown Plaza Event Center. Source: Rexburg Chamber of Commerce

Teton County

• Lula Wine Bar opened in Driggs. Source: The Jackson Hole News and Guide

Eastern Idaho commercial real estate statistics – 2024 and 2025

• There have been two large move-outs in Idaho Falls — First American Docutech and Wells Fargo — leaving 46,000 total square feet of industrial and office space vacant in 2024. However, total office real estate transactions in the first half of 2024 increased 49% over the year. Multitenant vacancy has increased over a percentage point the past 12 months to 8%. In the first half of 2024, industrial transactions doubled over the year.

• Industrial construction delivered 239,000 square feet of space halfway through 2024. Vacancy increased by almost two percentage points — to 8.5% — and retail transactions decreased 18% during the same time period. Overall, asking lease rates have increased 10% compared to last year. Commercial land transactions increased rapidly to 23% and commercial building permits increased 9% over the year, including Idahoan Foods building a large new plant in Idaho Falls. Retail remained the top sector for commercial leases, followed by office and industrial. Source: TOK Commercial Real Estate

Eastern Idaho residential real estate statistics – February 2024 and 2025

• Bonneville, Madison, Jefferson and Clark counties are the fastest selling housing markets in the region, showing an average of 48 days listed, which is a relatively long time to sit on the market. Idaho has dropped to 28th nationally for fastest selling housing markets, based on homes selling in 30 days or less. Regional pending home sales saw little change with a 2% decrease over the year.

• Nationally, pending home sales have dropped to the lowest in 25 years, owing to high interest rates and the opportunity cost being too great for homeowners to move. It would otherwise be a homebuyers’ market with the market softening, if not for continued high costs of borrowing and the increased price of homes themselves. The eastern Idaho supply of homes for sale has nearly doubled since February 2023, including an overabundance of new construction, yet regional home prices have still increased by 7% over the year. In 2024, total single-family building permits in the region doubled since 2023 with over 500 permits issued so far in 2025. There are 1,200 units currently planned or under construction. Source: TOK Commercial Real Estate, Realtor.com, View Homes

Figure 4.

Median price sold	Feb-25	Feb-24	Change
Bonneville	$427,200	$435,000	-1.8%
Butte	$232,000	$239,725	-3.2%
Clark	$242,450	$240,000	1.0%
Custer	$592,500	$532,500	11.3%
Fremont	$774,450	$738,750	4.8%
Jefferson	$499,000	$508,825	-1.9%
Lemhi	$500,000	$638,500	-21.7%
Madison	$426,700	$375,000	13.8%
Teton	$1,150,000	$858,000	34.0%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics

Figure 5.

Active listings (inventory)	Feb-25	Feb-24	Change
Bonneville	340	54	529.6%
Butte	8	12	-33.3%
Clark	3	1	200.0%
Custer	23	27	-14.8%
Fremont	69	67	3.0%
Jefferson	87	60	45.0%
Lemhi	46	30	53.3%
Madison	80	67	19.4%
Teton	94	72	30.6%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics	#Colspan#	#Colspan#	#Colspan#

Figure 6.

Median days on market	Feb-25	Feb-24	Change
Bonneville	64	54	18.5%
Butte	161	124	29.8%
Clark	22	184	-88.0%
Custer	151	120	25.8%
Fremont	136	122	11.5%
Jefferson	42	57	-26.3%
Lemhi	136	132	3.0%
Madison	64	83	-22.9%
Teton	119	149	-20.1%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics	#Colspan#	#Colspan#	#Colspan#

Figure 7.

Total homes pending sale	Feb-25	Feb-24	Change
Bonneville	159	164	-3.0%
Butte	4	4	0.0%
Clark	1	N/A	N/A
Custer	11	3	266.7%
Fremont	17	13	30.8%
Jefferson	35	34	2.9%
Lemhi	6	5	20.0%
Madison	25	22	13.6%
Teton	57	77	-26.0%
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.

This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the recipient and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.

Regional labor market information

• There were an estimated 1,425 deduplicated job postings in the eastern Idaho labor market for January 2025, according to The Conference Board: Help Wanted Online. (This is regional online job postings data and not necessarily job openings data.) The 1,425 postings are a 44% decrease from 2,534 the prior month, but a 21% increase from 1,120 year-over-year. Registered nurses remained in the top spot of occupations by unique job postings in the region for January. New to the top occupations by quantity of job postings in January were nursery and farm workers, physical therapists, medical imaging technicians and construction laborers. Employer hiring demand, based on quantity of job postings, decreased for all other carryover occupations from the month prior, including fewer by 55% for registered nurses, 62% for retail salesperson, 57% for heavy truck drivers, 45% for customer service representatives, 58% for retail sales supervisors and 62% for freight and material movers.

Figure 1.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in eastern Idaho, January 2025	Postings
Registered nurses	56
Crop, nursery, greenhouse workers and laborers	44
Retail salespersons	37
Physical therapists	34
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	34
Customer service representatives	26
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	25
Hand laborers, freight, stock and material movers	24
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	23
Construction laborers	22
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• Finance and insurance replaced manufacturing in the top five of regional industries by quantity of job postings in January. Industry hiring demand by job postings increased over the month by 36% in finance and insurance. Job postings decreased over the month in all other top industries.

Figure 2.

Top industries by job unique postings in eastern Idaho, January 2025	Postings
Health care and social assistance	186
Professional, scientific and technical services	165
Finance and insurance	148
Retail trade	133
Administrative, support, waste management and remediation services	103
Manufacturing	93
Wholesale trade	73
Construction	55
Educational services	53
Public administration	45
Accommodation and food services	28
Transportation and warehousing	25
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• January data on the hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho, by highest median job posting duration and multiple unique job postings, included pharmacy technicians, general and operations managers as well as administrative assistants. Hardest-to-fill job posting challenges in January by occupational family were health care practitioners, business and financial operations. All occupations were new to January’s hardest-to-fill jobs list.

Figure 3.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho, January 2025	Days to fill	Postings
Pharmacy technicians	28	8
Sales representatives of services	20	8
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	19	10
Construction laborers	17	22
Management analysts	17	12
Accountants and auditors	17	10
Radiologic technologists and technicians	17	9
General and operations managers	16	18
Secretaries and administrative assistants	16	16
Mechanical engineers	15	8
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Regional news

• Idaho National Laboratory (INL) agreed to a five-year memorandum of understanding with Boise State and Idaho State Universities. The agreement outlines collaboration on research in critical and strategic materials and minerals, environmental sustainability and security, nuclear materials and fuel cycle engineering, efficiency in nuclear power systems and industrial cybersecurity. Source: INL

• The 29th Annual East Idaho Fly Tying and Fly Fishing Expo returned to Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls. The event featured over 50 vendors and hundreds of patrons. Source: Idaho Falls Magazine

• Yellowstone National Park hosted 4.7 million visitors for 2024, the second highest on record, and a 5% increase from 2023. Source: National Park Service

• Utah-based travel subscription service, Flights from Home, added Idaho Falls Regional Airport to three other intermountain west airports it services. Source: Idaho Business Review

• A total of $136,000 in Rural Education Professional Grants were awarded in the eastern Idaho region by the U.S. Small Business Administration, administered by Idaho Commerce Rural Services. Source: Idaho Commerce

• According to Natural Resources Conservation Services mountain data from SNOTEL, the six runoff basins that comprise eastern Idaho have an average year-to-date snow water equivalent of over 103% of median and year-to-date precipitation between 95% and 103%. Source: Natural Resources Conservation Services

Bonneville County

• Fixxology Drinks, a soda shop, opened another location in Idaho Falls. Source: Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce

• A restaurant, bar and performance venue, AJ’s Place, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News

• Big Lots, an Idaho Falls retailer, closed permanently. Source: The Idaho Department of Labor

• As one of seven Idaho establishments that have encouraged growth and expansion with jobs paying above-average county wages, Idaho Economic Advisory Council awarded an Idaho Tax Reimbursement Incentive to Project Sofa. Source: Idaho Commerce

• Idaho Broadband Advisory Board awarded a $25,000 BEAD Regional Coordination and Planning Grant to the city of Ammon for the support and development of broadband action teams and coalitions. Source: Idaho Commerce

• Merriam Park, LLC purchased 1.3 acres in Idaho Falls for commercial use. Source: Idaho Business Review

• Denning Holdings, LLC purchased an acre on Main Street in Iona for commercial use. Source: Idaho Business Review

• Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival from Alberta, Canada made an annual tour stop in Idaho Falls. The adventure films feature remote locations and sports with over a thousand people attending locally. Source: KIFI

• Bonneville Joint School District was awarded an $11,000 Technology Improvement Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to install, improve or replace child nutrition technology solutions. Source: Idaho Business Review

• The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting and/or groundbreaking ceremony at Northgate Fixxology. Establishments that 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 are highlighted. Source: Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce

Custer County

• U.S. Bank in Mackay is closing. Source: Challis Messenger

• The Idaho Travel Council awarded a $162,000 Idaho Regional Travel and Convention Grant to Stanley-Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce and $25,000 to Challis Chamber of Commerce for tourism marketing. Source: Idaho Commerce

• The city of Stanley was awarded a $50,000 Idaho Gem Grant, administered by Idaho Commerce Rural Services, for infrastructure projects, including relocating the skating rink. Source: Idaho Commerce

• Custer County was awarded a $28,000 Rural Educational Professional Grant by the U.S. Small Business Administration, administered by Idaho Commerce Rural Services, to hire or retain a full-time economic development professional. Source: Idaho Commerce

Fremont County

• Idaho Broadband Advisory Board awarded a $30,000 BEAD Regional Coordination and Planning Grant to the city of Teton for the support and development of broadband action teams and coalitions. Source: Idaho Commerce

Jefferson County

• A new veterinary clinic, Bramwell Animal Hospital, is opening in Rigby. Source: Jefferson Star News

• The five-acre Jefferson Office Park is being developed in Rigby with five office buildings, two offices each. Source: Jefferson Star

• St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Mud Lake has been rebuilt and reopened after structure fire damage in 2021. Source: KIFI

• The Broulim family of Rigby, owner of Broulim’s Fresh Foods grocery stores, made a $7 million donation to construct a new field house at Rigby High School. Source: Jefferson Star

Lemhi County

• Lemhi County was awarded a $28,000 Rural Education Professional Grant by the U.S. Small Business Administration, administered by Idaho Commerce Rural Services, to hire or retain a full-time economic development professional. Source: Idaho Commerce

• The Idaho Travel Council awarded a $41,000 Idaho Regional Travel and Convention Grant to Lemhi County Economic Development Association for tourism marketing. Source: Idaho Commerce

Madison County

• Discount clothing store, Ross Dress for Less, is opening in Rexburg. Source: East Idaho News

• Tommy’s Car Wash opened in Rexburg. Source: Rexburg Chamber of Commerce

• Old Souls Bakery opened in Rexburg. Source: East Idaho News

• Pony Express Car Wash opened in Rexburg. Source: East Idaho News

• Idaho Broadband Advisory Board awarded a $25,000 BEAD Regional Coordination and Planning Grant to Madison County for the support and development of broadband action teams and coalitions. Source: Idaho Commerce

• The city of St. Anthony completed five pickleball courts and a splashpad at the new Merrill Rose Memorial Park. Source: Rexburg Standard Journal

• Brigham Young University-Idaho reports a 6% winter semester increase over last year, with 20,500 students living in Rexburg. Source: BYU-Idaho

Teton County

• Pearl Street Bagels opened in Driggs, their third location. Source: Jackson Hole News and Guide 

• A new interior design showroom, In Place Home, opened in Victor. It is a design firm that sells furnishings, assists with moving, professional organizing and estate sales. Source: Jackson Hole News and Guide

• Teton County was awarded a $30,000 Rural Education Professional Grant by the U.S. Small Business Administration, administered by Idaho Commerce Rural Services, to hire or retain a full-time economic development professional. Source: Idaho Commerce

• Teton Flats Apartments, a new four-building residential community in Victor, is opening this spring. Source: Buckrail

• Idaho Department of Water Resources announced a new Teton Basin groundwater district is forming within the next year. Source: Teton Valley News

• Over-the-year residential real estate transactions in Victor, Driggs, Tetonia and Alta decreased 4%and sales volume decreased 15% to close out 2024. Source: McPeak Group of Jackson Hole Sotheby’s International

Eastern Idaho residential real estate statistics – January 2023 and 2024

• With 90 more home listings in inventory than the same time last year in Bonneville County, the region’s largest housing market, home prices are lower over the year. In all the region’s urban counties, there are more homes in inventory with less pending homes being sold than at the same time last year.

Figure 4.

Median price sold	Jan-25	Jan-24	Change
Bonneville	$429,900	$432,000	-0.5%
Butte	$191,500	$239,500	-20.0%
Clark	$200,000	$240,000	-16.7%
Custer	$590,000	$565,000	4.4%
Fremont	$750,000	$699,200	7.3%
Jefferson	$480,000	$486,300	-1.3%
Lemhi	$522,500	$626,000	-16.5%
Madison	$407,200	$379,900	7.2%
Teton	$990,000	$822,000	20.4%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics

Figure 5.

Active listings (inventory)	Jan-25	Jan-24	Change
Bonneville	357	267	33.7%
Butte	9	17	-47.1%
Clark	1	1	0.0%
Custer	26	28	-7.1%
Fremont	75	67	11.9%
Jefferson	83	61	36.1%
Lemhi	42	30	40.0%
Madison	73	70	4.3%
Teton	102	84	21.4%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics	#Colspan#	#Colspan#	#Colspan#

Figure 6.

Median days on market	Jan-25	Jan-24	Change
Bonneville	65	72	-9.7%
Butte	147	102	44.1%
Clark	28	156	-82.1%
Custer	148	104	42.3%
Fremont	133	117	13.7%
Jefferson	84	83	1.2%
Lemhi	125	123	1.6%
Madison	85	70	21.4%
Teton	116	134	-13.4%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics	#Colspan#	#Colspan#	#Colspan#

Figure 7.

Total homes pending sale	Jan-25	Jan-24	Change
Bonneville	122	140	-12.9%
Butte	4	4	0.0%
Clark	1	N/A	N/A
Custer	12	1	100.0%
Fremont	16	15	6.7%
Jefferson	25	27	-7.4%
Lemhi	6	3	100.0%
Madison	15	26	-42.3%
Teton	50	72	-30.6%
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.

This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the recipient and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.

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.

Figure 1.

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

• 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.

Figure 2.

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.

Figure 3.

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.

Figure 4.

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.

Figure 5.

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

Figure 6.

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#

Figure 7.

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#

Figure 8.

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.

This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the recipient and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.

Regional labor market information

• Labor force estimates for November 2024 from the Idaho Department of Labor’s Local Area Unemployment Statistics have both total employment and unemployment increasing in the nine-county eastern region. Seasonally adjusted, November’s preliminary estimates have labor force participants increasing by 324 people, with 116 more employed people and 208 more unemployed people. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the region increased to 3.1% since last month and is 0.6 percentage points higher than November 2023.

Figure 1.

Eastern Idaho, seasonally adjusted data	Nov-24 (P)	Oct-24 (P)	Nov-23 (B)
Civilian labor force	133,100	132,776	129,487
Total employment	128,800	128,684	126,093
Unemployment	4,300	4,092	3,394
% of labor force unemployed	3.2	3.1	2.6
P – Preliminary, R – Revised, B – Benchmarked Source: Idaho Department of Labor

• There were an estimated 941 unique, deduplicated job postings in the eastern Idaho labor market for November 2024, according to The Conference Board: Help Wanted Online. (This is regional online job postings data and not necessarily job openings data.) The 941 postings are a 25% decrease from 1,259 the prior month, but a 2% increase from 922 year over year. Registered nurses remained the top occupation of unique job postings in the region for November. New to the top occupations by quantity of job postings this month were merchandise displayers, software developers, maintenance repair workers, computer programmers and mental health counselors. Employer hiring demand based on quantity of job postings did not increase for any occupations since last month. Job postings decreased for all other carryover occupations from the month prior, including 52% for heavy truck drivers, 51% for retail salespersons and 20% for registered nurses.

Figure 2.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in eastern Idaho, November 2024	Postings
Registered nurses	45
Retail salespersons	27
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	21
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	21
Hand laborers, freight, stock and material movers	21
Software developers	19
Customer service representatives	19
General maintenance and repair workers	16
Computer programmers	15
Mental health counselors	12
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• Finance and insurance replaced educational services in the top five of regional industries by quantity of job postings this month. Industry hiring demand by job postings increased over the month by 35% in finance and insurance and by 11% in public administration industries. Job postings decreased over the month by 45% in educational services, 41% in professional, scientific and technical services, 30% in waste management and remediation, 37% in construction, 20% in transportation and warehousing, 19% in wholesale trade and 16% in health care and social assistance industries.

Figure 3.

Top industries by job unique postings in eastern Idaho, November 2024	Postings
Health care and social assistance	147
Finance and insurance	100
Professional, scientific and technical services	98
Administrative, support, waste management and remediation services	84
Retail trade	75
Manufacturing	62
Wholesale trade	50
Construction	40
Educational services	40
Public administration	36
Transportation and warehousing	20
Accommodation and food services	19
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• November data on the hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho, by highest median job posting duration and multiple unique job postings, include registered nurses, general and operations managers and project management specialists. Hardest-to-fill job posting challenges in November by occupational family were health care practitioners and technical and management. All occupations were new to this month’s hardest-to-fill jobs list, except accountants, general and operations managers and registered nurses.

Figure 4.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho, November 2024	Days to fill	Postings
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	24	21
Registered nurses	23	45
General and operations managers	18	10
Accountants and auditors	18	9
Cashiers	17	9
Radiologic technologists and technicians	17	5
Stockers and order fillers	16	5
Driver and sales workers	13	12
Retail salespersons	9	27
Physical therapists	7	9
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Regional news

• According to Natural Resources Conservation Services mountain data from SNOTEL, the five runoff basins that comprise eastern Idaho have an average year-to-date snow water equivalent measuring 82% of median, but only 68% of median for average year-to-date precipitation. Source: Natural Resources Conservation Services

• The U.S. Small Business Administration issued an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration to aid businesses impacted by wildfires, including the Bench Lake and Wapiti Fires that began July 11. This makes assistance available in Butte, Custer and Lemhi counties to offset economic losses. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration

• A new memorandum of understanding between Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Idaho State University begins collaborative research in critical and strategic minerals and materials, as well as environmental sustainability and security. This research involves the study and development of materials vital to technology and industrial processes that are also at risk of supply disruptions. Some of these critical minerals are mined in eastern Idaho. Environmental sustainability research will include carbon reduction, sequestration and storage technologies, digitization and artificial intelligence, geothermal energy, as well as spent fuel storage and disposition. Sources: INL and Post Register

• Allegiant Airlines is adding a new stop to Denver from Idaho Falls Regional Airport starting May 2025. Source: KIFI

Bonneville County

• Cielito Lindo, a new Mexican restaurant, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News

• The Christmas Caboose, an old train caboose present along a riverbank in Idaho Falls for decades, has been turned into a seasonal drive-thru treat shop. Source: East Idaho News

• Bumble and Bleat, a soap boutique, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: Idaho Falls Magazine

• A speakeasy called Soiled Dove opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News

• JB’s Soda Barn in Idaho Falls is permanently closing. Source: East Idaho News

• The city of Idaho Falls completed the entire citywide fiber network for residential use ahead of schedule. Installation teams invented technology and designed ground-boring equipment to minimize above-ground digging. Construction totaled $45 million. There are currently over 8,500 customers using the network and six service providers. On average there are 200-300 new installations per month. Source: City of Idaho Falls

• The four-acre Gem Prep Charter School lot in Ammon’s Bridgewater neighborhood was sold to Caliber Customs for construction of 17 townhomes. The zoning was previously designated as parks, schools and churches but is now zoned as residential. Source: Post Register

• The city of Idaho Falls accepted a $2.6 million bid to construct a new fire station on the north side of the city. Source: Post Register

• The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce announced ribbon cutting and/or groundbreaking ceremonies at Kid to Kid, Idaho Falls Festival of Trees and Candy Cane Lane. 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

Custer County

• The Challis City Council went ahead with preliminary plat approval for the Centerra Park subdivision to develop 14 new single-family homes for workers employed at Thompson Creek Mine. The single large lot owned by Thompson Creek will be subdivided into quarter to a half-acre lots and sold. Source: Challis Messenger

• A 10-year federal permit was issued to Electra, a mining company in the Salmon-Challis National Forest, for 91 copper and cobalt locations and hundreds of potential drill targets, strengthening domestic critical mineral production needed for electric vehicle batteries. Source: Challis Messenger

Fremont County

• Fremont County Joint School District 251 has announced upgrades to career technical education classrooms and a new greenhouse to support culinary arts, big game processing, agricultural education, industrial technology and management programs. Source: Rexburg Standard Journal

• The city of Ashton approved a new city code officially allowing for short-term rentals in residential areas with initial and annual registration fees. Source: Rexburg Standard Journal

Jefferson County

• The former business owners of Thrifty Nickel, which shuttered in September, opened a new establishment called Innovative Ink, a printshop in Menan. Source: East Idaho News

• Mountain Top Print Shop, a custom printing business, opened in Rigby. Source: East Idaho News

• Sweet Swirls ice cream shop opened in Rigby. Source: East Idaho News

• Post Holdings, Inc., a St. Louis firm, is acquiring Rigby-based Potato Products of Idaho LLC who employ 163 workers to manufacture, and package refrigerated and frozen potato products. Source: Post Holdings press release

• Kelly Canyon ski resort opened for the season. They now boast three snowmaking guns, new power and a retention pond. They have also installed a new triple-seat chair lift. Their 10-year plan includes new lodging, another ski lift, zip lines and a mountain coaster. Source: Post Register

Madison County

• Links Indoor Golf opened in Rexburg. Source: East Idaho News

• Rexburg city council approved the Adara at Teton Lakes subdivision plat. The development is 62 acres and will contain 157 building lots. Source: Rexburg Standard Journal

Teton County

• The Idaho Supreme Court ruled in favor of Teton Creek Resort, LLC in their case with Teton County, allowing the resort to move forward with plans to record its condominium plat and obtain necessary building permits. Source: Teton Valley News

Eastern Idaho residential real estate statistics – November 2023 and 2024

Figure 5.

Median price sold	Nov-24	Nov-23	Change
Bonneville	$445,000	$417,450	6.6%
Butte	$192,500	$258,000	-25.4%
Clark	$245,000	$212,500	15.3%
Custer	$499,950	$625,000	-20.0%
Fremont	$750,000	$687,000	9.2%
Jefferson	$525,000	$516,250	1.7%
Lemhi	$555,000	$665,500	-16.6%
Madison	$399,000	$399,000	0%
Teton	$995,000	$818,500	21.6%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics

Figure 6.

Active listings (inventory)	Nov-24	Nov-23	Change
Bonneville	397	340	16.8%
Butte	16	23	-30.4%
Clark	1	2	-50.0%
Custer	46	31	48.4%
Fremont	114	101	12.9%
Jefferson	106	85	24.7%
Lemhi	53	44	20.5%
Madison	95	95	0%
Teton	137	102	32.4%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics	#Colspan#	#Colspan#	#Colspan#

Figure 7.

Median days on market	Nov-24	Nov-23	Change
Bonneville	57	47	21.3%
Butte	108	84	28.6%
Clark	16	75	-78.7%
Custer	97	101	-4.0%
Fremont	116	92	26.1%
Jefferson	73	68	7.4%
Lemhi	99	108	-8.3%
Madison	80	80	0%
Teton	117	94	24.5%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics	#Colspan#	#Colspan#	#Colspan#

Figure 8.

Total homes pending sale	Nov-24	Nov-23	Change
Bonneville	167	145	15.2%
Butte	3	3	0%
Clark	1	2	-50.0%
Custer	6	4	50.0%
Fremont	30	20	50.0%
Jefferson	39	38	2.6%
Lemhi	12	4	200.0%
Madison	31	31	0%
Teton	54	40	35.0%
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.

This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the recipient and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.

Regional labor market information

• Labor force estimates for October 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, October’s preliminary estimates have labor force participants increasing by 286, with 215 more employed people and 71 more unemployed people. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the region remained unchanged at 3% and 0.3 percentage points higher than October 2023.

Figure 1.

Eastern Idaho, seasonally adjusted data	Oct-24 (P)	Sep-24 (P)	Oct-23 (B)
Civilian labor force	132,789	132,503	129,349
Total employment	128,696	128,481	125,883
Unemployment	4,093	4,022	3,466
% of labor force unemployed	3.0	3.0	2.7
P – Preliminary, R – Revised, B – Benchmarked Source: Idaho Department of Labor

• There were an estimated 1,259 unique job postings in the eastern Idaho labor market for October 2024, according to The Conference Board: Help Wanted Online (this is regional online job postings data and not necessarily job openings data.) The 1,259 postings are a 3% decrease from 1,294 the prior month and a 12% year-over-year increase from 1,140. Registered nurses were the top occupation of unique (deduplicated) job postings in the region for October. New to the top occupations by quantity of job postings this month were radiologic technologists and physical therapists. Employer hiring demand from a job postings perspective increased 4% for retail salespersons, 26% for hand laborers and material movers and 11% for general and operations managers. Job postings decreased for all other carryover occupations from the month prior.

Figure 2.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in eastern Idaho, October 2024	Postings
Registered nurses	56
Retail salespersons	55
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	44
Radiologic technologists and technicians	34
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	29
Hand laborers, freight, stock and material movers	23
Customer service representatives	21
Secretaries and administrative assistants	20
General and operations managers	18
Physical therapists	16
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• This month, educational services replaced manufacturing in the top five of regional industries by quantity of job postings. Industry hiring demand based on job postings increased over the month in health care and social assistance by 5%, waste management and remediation services by 15%, education services by 22%, other services by 28% and finance and insurance by 37%. Areas that saw a decrease in job postings over the month were public administration by 36%, manufacturing by 30%; professional, scientific and technical services by 26%; transportation and warehousing by 24% and wholesale trade industries by 18%.

Figure 3.

Top industries by job unique postings in eastern Idaho, October 2024	Postings
Health care and social assistance	176
Professional, scientific and technical services	165
Retail Trade	141
Administrative, support, waste management and remediation services	120
Educational services	73
Finance and insurance	65
Construction	63
Manufacturing	62
Wholesale trade	62
Other services	36
Public administration	32
Real estate and rental leasing	28
Transportation and warehousing	25
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• October data on the hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho, in terms of highest median job posting duration and multiple unique job postings, include registered nurses, general and operations managers and project management specialists. Hardest-to-fill job posting challenges in October by occupational family were health care practitioners, technical and management. All occupations were new to this month’s hardest-to-fill jobs list, except general and operations managers and registered nurses.

Figure 4.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in eastern Idaho, October 2024	Days to fill	Postings
Medical and health services managers	25	8
Speech-language pathologists	25	6
Financial managers	24	7
General and operations managers	20	18
Project management specialists	18	13
Hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmotologists	17	9
Accounts and auditors	17	7
Registered nurses	16	56
Computer programmers	16	6
All other physicians	16	6
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Regional news

• Yellowstone National Park hosted 838,458 visitors last month, the second highest September on record. So far in 2024, the park has hosted 4,349,689 recreation visits, an increase of 5% since 2023. The year-to-date numbers are just 120,000 lower than in 2021, the park’s record-setting year. Source: National Park Service
• The Idaho Falls Regional Airport received $2.5 million from the Federal Aviation Administration for expanding the terminal’s outbound baggage processing, ticketing, airline offices and baggage screening areas. Construction will begin in the Spring of 2025. Source: KIFI
• The U.S. and Idaho Departments of Agriculture partnered with the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, awarding the following equipment and infrastructure grants for increased capacity and output in eastern Idaho to:
  • Farr Candy Co. in Idaho Falls  – $95,000 for equipment to increase ice cream manufacturing.
  • Salmon Valley Stewardship in Salmon – $99,620 for a community commercial kitchen for regional producers and food businesses.
  • Walters Produce 2.0 in Newdale – $96,023 for potato line improvements to increase capacity. Source: Capital Press
• The new Arco Wind and Solar project located outside of Idaho Falls was approved by the Idaho board of land commissioners, becoming the first wind and solar farm on Idaho endowment land. The 49-year lease will be developed by Pacificorp on 11,000 acres for 10 to 12 wind turbines and 2,000-5,000 acres for solar generator equipment. Source: KIFI
• Bonneville, Teton, Fremont, Jefferson and Madison Counties are eligible to apply for low-interest federal Small Business Administration disaster loans to offset economic losses due to reduced revenue from the draught that began Aug. 13. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration

Bonneville County

• A new retail establishment, Kid to Kid, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: Idaho Department of Labor
• Amazing Glaze Donuts opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News
• Game Grid, a tabletop gaming retailer, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News
• Vast Apparel opened in Idaho Falls. Source: Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce
• Budget Binzz, a retail shop, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: Idaho Department of Labor
• North 40 Adventures, a new clothing, boutique and sporting goods shop, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News
• Another location of Park Avenue Grill opened in Idaho Falls. Source: Idaho Department of Labor
• 208 Outlets, an overstock liquidation company, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: Idaho Falls Magazine
• Burly Burger, a restaurant chain based in Utah, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: East Idaho News
• OneZo, a boba tea store, opened in Idaho Falls. Source: Idaho Falls Magazine
• Rediscovered Treasures, an Idaho Falls consignment shop, is permanently closing. Source: Idaho Department of Labor
• Bill’s Bike and Snow, a retailer in Idaho Falls, is permanently closing. Source: Idaho Department of Labor
• The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce announced ribbon cutting and/or groundbreaking ceremonies at Vast Apparel, U.S. Bank, The Little Play Hut Play Café, Transformative Journey Healthcare, North 40 Adventures and United Energy Workers Healthcare. 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
• Greater Idaho Falls Transit was inducted into the Idaho Transportation Department’s Hall of Fame for Innovation as something unique, not previously applied in the public transportation industry. The data obtained through this project will lead to further planning and recommendations for other services and possible expansion to surrounding areas. By the end of October 2024, the transit company gave over 220,000 rides in Idaho Falls. The program is planning to add five additional vehicles over the next six months. Source: KIFI
• The Bonneville School District’s $5.8 million supplemental levy passed. Source: East Idaho News
• The Idaho Falls School District’s $1.6 million supplemental levy passed. Source: East Idaho News
• The city of Ammon’s $1.25 million street levy passed. Source: East Idaho News

Clark County

• The Clark County School District’s $500,000 supplemental levy passed. Source: East Idaho News

Custer County

• Challis City Council reversed an ordinance and will now allow tiny homes, including five small, manufactured homes, to be parked inside the Round Valley RV Park. Source: Challis Messenger
• The Challis School District’s $1.4 million supplemental levy passed. Source: East Idaho News

Fremont County

• Wooden Nickel Stained Glass, a retailer in St. Anthony, is permanently closing. Source: East Idaho News
• The Fremont County School District’s $3 million supplemental levy passed. Source: East Idaho News

Jefferson County

• Idaho Elite K9 Training and Boarding Suites opened in Rigby. Source: East Idaho News
• The Ririe School District’s $745,000 supplemental levy passed. Source: East Idaho News
• The West Jefferson School District’s $720,000 supplemental levy passed. Source: East Idaho News
• The former U.S. Bank building in Rigby was sold to an undisclosed business. Source: Idaho Business Review
• The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners approved a $1 million purchase for 37 acres of land to be used as a gravel pit for the Road and Bridge Department and for landfill expansion. Source: Jefferson Star

Madison County

• Great Clips hair salon opened in Rexburg. Source: East Idaho News
• Sumo Boba, a drink shop, opened in Rexburg. Source: East Idaho News
• Masala Indian Cuisine opened in Rexburg. Source: East Idaho News

Teton County

• The Teton School District’s $9.9 million supplemental levy passed. Source: East Idaho News

Eastern Idaho residential real estate statistics – October 2023 and 2024

Figure 5.

Median price sold	Sep-24	Sep-23	Change
Bonneville	$450,000	$429,725	4.7%
Butte	$198,000	$270,500	-26.8%
Clark	$240,000	$216,188	11.0%
Custer	$499,974	$625,000	-20.0%
Fremont	$747,900	$697,000	7.3%
Jefferson	$525,000	$534,375	-1.8%
Lemhi	$579,750	$657,000	-11.8%
Madison	$398,500	$394,700	1.0%
Teton	$993,750	$939,000	5.8%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics

Figure 6.

Active listings (inventory)	Oct-24	Oct-23	Change
Bonneville	402	357	12.6%
Butte	18	22	-18.2%
Clark	1	2	-50.0%
Custer	48	34	41.2%
Fremont	143	113	26.5%
Jefferson	116	98	18.4%
Lemhi	58	47	23.4%
Madison	99	86	15.1%
Teton	137	109	25.7%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics	#Colspan#	#Colspan#	#Colspan#

Figure 7.

Median days on market	Oct-24	Oct-23	Change
Bonneville	52	40	30.0%
Butte	85	84	1.2%
Clark	162	57	184.2%
Custer	94	106	-11.3%
Fremont	105	82	28.0%
Jefferson	64	77	-16.9%
Lemhi	97	89	9.0%
Madison	74	47	57.4%
Teton	97	85	14.1%
Source: RDC Inventory Core Metrics	#Colspan#	#Colspan#	#Colspan#

Figure 8.

Total homes pending sale	Oct-24	Oct-23	Change
Bonneville	201	159	26.4%
Butte	4	4	0.0%
Clark	2	N/A	N/A
Custer	8	6	33.3%
Fremont	36	24	50.0%
Jefferson	38	34	11.8%
Lemhi	6	6	0.0%
Madison	36	27	33.3%
Teton	73	49	49.0%
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.

This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the recipient and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.

Continue reading

Bonneville, Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison and Teton counties

Region

Labor force estimates for July 2024 from the Idaho Department of Labor’s Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) have both total employment increasing and unemployment increasing in the nine-county eastern region. Seasonally adjusted, July’s preliminary estimates have labor force participants increasing by 1,754 people, with 1,578 more employed people and 176 more unemployed people. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3.1%, 0.1 percentage points higher than June 2024 and a half a percent higher than July 2023.

Continue reading