Regional news

Regional labor market information

Figure 1.

North central, seasonally adjusted data	Dec-25 (P)	Nov-25 (R)	Dec-24 (B)
Civilian labor force	54,432	53,813	56,385
Total employment	52,314	51,792	54,162
Unemployment	2,118	2,021	2,223
Percentage of labor force unemployed	3.9%	3.8%	3.9%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine	P – Preliminary	R – Revised	B – Benchmarked

• There has been no new monthly labor force data to report. 2026 labor force data will not be released until the 2025 benchmarking process is complete. The next monthly labor force data release is expected to occur in April and May 2026.

Figure 2.

North central Idaho job postings	Jan-26	Jan-25
Unique postings	2,279	1,855
Days posted	22	28
Number of employers	473	320
Average hourly wage	$25.05	$34.65
Percentage of postings with advertised wage	41%	39%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Job posting comparability between 2025 and 2026 is significantly affected by a change in internal processes implemented by Lightcast during mid-2025. Total regional job postings in January held level compared to December. New postings over the month increased for Retail Sales and Educational Services while declining for Public Administration.

Figure 3.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in north central Idaho	Postings, Jan-26	Postings, Jan-25
Registered Nurses	184	181
Retail Salespersons	59	60
Occupational Therapists	56	52
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	56	21
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	55	19
Nursing Assistants	41	33
Customer Service Representatives	39	21
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery and Greenhouse	39	31
Food Service Managers	34	4
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians	34	12
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Food Service Managers continue to have strong demand by job posting count over the last few months while monthly hires appear to be completed at a much slower rate.

Figure 4.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in north central Idaho	Postings, Jan-26	Postings, Jan-25
Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services	371	389
Health Care and Social Assistance	448	417
Educational Services	203	202
Retail Trade	168	140
Accommodation and Food Services	118	53
Transportation and Warehousing	65	38
Finance and Insurance	87	83
Manufacturing	88	94
Wholesale Trade	56	65
Public Administration	68	58
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Accommodation and Food Services postings decreased in comparison to December levels but were strong compared to the same time last year. The job count for many of the region’s top industries in January 2026 were at similar levels in January 2025.

Figure 5.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in north central Idaho	Median duration, Jan-26	Unique postings, Jan-26
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General	55	23
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	39	55
Food Preparation Workers	39	25
Nursing Assistants	36	41
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	36	23
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	35	24
Pharmacy Technicians	34	18
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	34	18
Driver and Sales Workers	34	17
Janitors and Cleaners (Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners)	33	33
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• By occupational group, the north central region is experiencing the longest durations in filling positions within Protective Service occupations (44 days), Health Care Support occupations (37 days) and Installation, Maintenance and Repair occupations (37 days).

Regional news

• During January 2026, north central Idaho averaged 40 initial weekly unemployment insurance (UI) claims (a 27% decrease from the 55 in January 2025) and 330 weekly continuing claims (a decrease of 5% from the 349 in January 2025). Source: Idaho Department of Labor UI Claims

• Rayonier and PotlatchDeltic Corporation merged operations at the end of January 2026 and are now known as Rayonier. The combined land resources REIT entity is expected to save $40 million in annual cost savings. Rayonier manages 4.2 million acres of U.S. timberland (624,000 in Idaho’s panhandle), six sawmills (one in St. Maries), an industrial-grade plywood mill (in St. Maries), real estate developments and a rural land sales program. Source: Rayonier

Idaho County

• Syringa Hospital was able to re-open its operating room area following a December 2025 fire incident. Source: Idaho County Free Press

Latah County

• Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories has started site preparation for its new $50 million, 250,000 square foot electronic device manufacturing facility in Moscow. When completed in late 2027, the new facility is likely to create approximately 1,000 local jobs. Source: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories

• The University of Idaho has scheduled a grand opening of April 10, 2026, for its new Meat Science and Innovation Center on the Moscow campus. Vandal brand meats will be fully operational in the new facility by early March 2026. Source: University of Idaho

• The Latah County Commissioners approved a $1.9 million bid from Spokane’s Zero dB Communications to build fiber broadband infrastructure in Genesee and Potlatch. Source: Lewiston Tribune

• Gritman Medical Center completed the 18-month long project to upgrade the Sterile Processing Department and has assumed full operational ownership of the Palouse Surgery Center. Source: Gritman Medical Center

Regional openings

• Rudolph Bookkeeping, Lewiston

• Arcadia Skin Studio, Lewiston

• Northwest Restorative Psychiatry, Lewiston

• Sidebar IT, Lewiston

• Kooskia Café is under new ownership, Kooskia

• Jungle Gym’s Indoor Play Center & Café is under new ownership, Grangeville

Regional closings

• Style Revival consignment store, Lewiston

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This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY26 as part of the Workforce Information grant (41%) and state/nonfederal funds (59%) totaling $860,595.

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