Author: Sam Wolkenhauer

Regional labor market information

• Labor demand in northern Idaho declined in November 2024, with a total of 1,331 unique job postings in the region – a decrease from 1,846. This decline (roughly a 28% decrease in postings) is consistent with past seasonal trends. In 2023, postings declined from 1,707 in October to 1,340 in November. The unemployment rate decreased slightly from 4.8% to 4.7% but remains higher than November 2023. Both total labor force and total employment remain above their 2023 levels.  

Figure 1.

Northern Idaho seasonally adjusted data	Nov-24 (P)	Oct-24 (R)	Nov-23 (B)
Civilian labor force	129,282	129,120	127,809
Total employment	123,202	122,879	122,705
Unemployment	6,080	6,241	5,104
% of labor force unemployed	4.7%	4.8%	4.0%
Source: Idaho Department of Labor	P – Preliminary, R – Revised, B – Benchmarked

Figure 2.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in northern Idaho	Postings, Nov-24	Postings, Nov-23
Registered nurses	74	52
Laborers, freight and material movers	38	25
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	35	20
Home health and personal care aides	35	40
First line supervisors of retail sales workers	35	29
Fast food and counter workers	27	23
Retail salespersons	25	49
Medical and health services managers	24	30
Food services managers	23	17
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing	23	14
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Figure 3.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in northern Idaho	Postings, Nov-24	Postings, Nov-23
Health care and social assistance	201	221
Retail trade	155	183
Administrative and support services	152	112
Accommodation and food services	67	111
Finance and insurance	56	89
Manufacturing	50	56
Professional, scientific and technical services	50	62
Construction	46	34
Wholesale trade	33	34
Educational services	32	33
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Figure 4.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in northern Idaho	Median duration, Nov-24	Median duration, Nov-23
Lifeguards, ski patrol and other recreational protective services	29	N/A
Unclassified occupations	27	N/A
Nurse practitioners	27	N/A
Community and social service specialists, all other	27	N/A
Computer systems analysts	27	N/A
Home appliance repairers	27	N/A
Editors	27	N/A
Coaches and scouts	26	N/A
Home health and personal care aides	25	N/A
Telemarketers	24	N/A
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Regional news

Bonnor County

• An application for a large industrial facility in northern Sandpoint is under review by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. Although the operator of the proposed facility has not been announced yet, the traffic impact study for the project indicates a 25,500 square foot facility which would employ roughly 150 people. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Kootenai County

• Construction is underway on a new food truck and restaurant court in Post Falls. Named Eats on Spokane Street, the facility will feature a 1,500 square foot bar and restaurant with outdoor spaces for seven food trucks. Confirmed tenants so far include MelFit Healthy Kitchen, Nachos Cantina and a Charcuteria food truck. Construction on the $1.2 million project has begun and the space is expected to open in the spring of 2025. Source: Journal of Business

• A large new commercial center is being built on Highway 41 in northern Post Falls. The Early Dawn Commercial Center will include three separate buildings that are 12,000 square feet each, with space for five or six commercial suites per structure. The facility is expected to open in April. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

• North Idaho College is finalizing plans to cut its athletics budget by about $1.8 million over the next two years. College leadership began examining options for reducing the athletics budget after it increased sharply over the last two school years, from $2.2 million to $6.2 million. The current proposal entails reducing funding for tuition, fees, and housing for student athletes, as well as eliminating the golf program. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Openings

• Lanai (Coeur d’Alene)
• Rose Restorative (Post Falls)
• Boiada Brazilian Grill (Coeur d’Alene)
• Oval Office Restaurant (Re-opening in Coeur d’Alene)
• Lash & Locks Girl Studio (Coeur d’Alene)
• Albatross Golf Experience (Coeur d’Alene)
• Squad9 (Post Falls)
• REVV Health (Coeur d’Alene)
• Earth Fairy Holistics (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.

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 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.

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.

Region

Labor demand in northern Idaho remained stable in August 2024, with a total of 1,923 unique job postings in the region – a slight decline from 2,043 in July. The unemployment rate rose slightly in August from 4.8% to 4.9%, increasing by 0.8% from August of last year. Overall, total employment has increased slightly over the last year.

Figure 1.

Northern Idaho seasonally adjusted data	Aug-24 (P)	July-24 (R)	Aug-23 (B)
Civilian labor force	127,977	127,300	126,401
Total employment	121,686	121,180	121,231
Unemployment	6,291	6,120	5,170
% of labor force unemployed	4.9%	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, July 2024	Postings, Aug-24	Postings, Aug-23
Retail salespersons	68	73
Registered nurses	64	92
Laborers, freight, stock, material movers and hand	40	60
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	40	22
Home health and personal care aides	38	43
Fast food and counter workers	38	27
Customer service representatives	35	37
Medical and health service managers	33	14
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	29	41
Cashiers	28	23
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Figure 3.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in northern Idaho, August 2024	Postings, Aug-24	Postings, Aug-23
Health care and social assistance	273	309
Retail trade	260	288
Administrative and support services	202	221
Manufacturing	122	144
Accommodation and food services	118	137
Finance and insurance	78	85
Professional, scientific and technical services	70	94
Wholesale trade	69	73
Educational services	50	56
Construction	47	55
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Figure 4.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in northern Idaho, August 2024	Median duration, Aug-24	Median duration, Aug-23
Automotive and watercraft service attendants	27	N/A
Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks	27	N/A
Sewing machine operators	27	N/A
Electricians	26	N/A
Preschool teachers, except special education	25	N/A
Cement masons and concrete finishers	25	19
First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers and repairers	24	N/A
Cashiers	23	N/A
Sales representatives, technical and scientific products	23	N/A
Machinists	23	10
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

Region News

Bonner County

• The Idaho Department of Lands auctioned off eight (now-former) endowment lots on Priest Lake, netting more than $11.4 million, which was more than $500,000 above the appraised value of the lots.  Source: Bonner County Daily Bee

Kootenai County

• A new family division land-use ordinance has gone into effect in Kootenai County. The new ordinance contains exemptions which will make it easier for property owners to divide their land to either sell or gift to family members, by allowing living property owners to divide unplotted land without following the county’s formal subdivision procedures. Source: Journal of Business
• Coeur d’Alene based Intermax Networks raised $60 million in private and public funds to extend fiber-optic infrastructure to underserved regional communities. Projects have begun to run fiber to rural communities in northern Idaho including Spirit Lake, Twin Lakes Village and to bring connectivity along Idaho Route 54. Source: Journal of Business
• Construction is beginning on a new interchange between State Highway 53 and Pleasant View Road. The $30 million Idaho Transportation Department project will include a new diamond interchange and additional lanes, which will eliminate several railroad crossings and greatly increase capacity. Preliminary work this autumn is not expected to impact traffic flows, with impacts to drivers beginning in spring 2025. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
• The North Idaho Building Contractor’s Association held its annual Parade of Homes. The event allows regional builders to showcase their state-of-the-art projects with ticketed tours of homes. The event serves to both promote home builders and educate the public on the latest trends and innovations in home design.  It also serves major fundraiser for the Building Contractor’s Association. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Openings

• 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)
• Wholesome Plate (Coeur d’Alene)
• Paradigm Owners Rep Services (Coeur d’Alene)
• NorthLife Aesthetics (Coeur d’Alene)
• Bolton Law (Coeur d’Alene)
• Kayu International (Hayden)
• Sandpoint Ceramics (Sandpoint)
• Cultivation Counseling (Sandpoint)

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This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY24 as part of the Workforce Information grant (48%) and state/nonfederal (52%) totaling $704,259.

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.

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