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

• All north central counties have increased their total employment in December 2025 compared to November 2025. Mild daily temperatures in both November and December may have allowed additional work to continue in the region’s seasonal industries.

Figure 2.

North central Idaho job postings	Dec-25	Dec-24
Unique postings	2,738	1,710
Days posted	25	31
Number of employers	546	334
Average hourly wage	$25.78	$31.45
Percentage of postings with advertised wage	40%	37%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Job posting comparability between 2024 and 2025 is significantly affected by a change in internal processes implemented by Lightcast during 2025. Total regional job postings in December held fairly steady compared to November. New postings over the month increased for Public Administration and Finance and Manufacturing. This was offset by fewer new listings posted within Retail and Education.

Figure 3.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in north central Idaho	Postings, Dec-25	Postings, Dec-24
Registered Nurses	222	143
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	79	17
Customer Service Representatives	60	20
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	55	15
Food Service Managers	50	10
Retail Salespersons	43	77
Nursing Assistants	39	25
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	38	34
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	36	19
Postsecondary Teachers	34	37
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Job postings for Customer Service Representatives increased in November to around 60 regional postings. There has been strong demand for Customer Service Representatives in the Retail, Finance and Transportation and Warehousing industries.

Figure 4.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in north central Idaho	Postings, Dec-25	Postings, Dec-24
Administrative, Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services	623	309
Health Care and Social Assistance	580	400
Educational Services	187	212
Retail Trade	164	156
Accommodation and Food Services	129	45
Transportation and Warehousing	96	36
Finance and Insurance	92	83
Manufacturing	84	70
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	74	35
Public Administration	61	52
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Retail Sales experienced a seasonal slowdown in postings in December that was partially offset by increased postings for Department Stores and Gas Stations. Educational Services job postings were muted overall in 2025 as lower postings for Colleges and Universities outweighed posting gains for Elementary and Secondary Schools.

Figure 5.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in north central Idaho	Median duration, Dec-25	Unique postings, Dec-25
Fast Food and Counter Workers	53	21
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery and Greenhouse	39	22
Cashiers	39	18
Occupational Therapists	37	31
Physician Assistants	35	17
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	35	17
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General	34	22
Food Preparation Workers	33	30
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	33	36
Speech Language Pathologists	31	23
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• The three occupations with the longest posting duration in December combined had a median advertised salary of $16.55 per hour and two out of three paid under $17 per hour.

Regional news

• For December 2025, north central Idaho averaged 69 initial weekly unemployment insurance (UI) claims (an increase of 27% from December 2024) and 243 weekly continuing claims (an increase of 13% from December 2024). For the entirety of 2025, average weekly initial claims decreased 5% compared to 2024 while continuing claims increased by 16%. While average initial UI claims remain at fairly low levels, claimants likely filed UI for more weeks on average in 2025 than in 2024. Historically, 35-40% of total annual initial claims within north central Idaho occur during January-March (first quarter) and 60-70% occur within the first and fourth quarters. Source: Idaho Department of Labor UI Claims

• In the last six months of 2025, the number of single-family homes sold in north central Idaho increased 9% compared to the same period in 2024. Latah and Nez Perce counties accounted for over 70% of all regional homes sold in the period and the number of home sales increased by 11%. Nez Perce and Latah combined have 13% more active listings on the market than this time last year. The rural counties of Clearwater, Idaho and Lewis counties together had 5% more homes sold in 2025 while having 18% fewer active listings than at the end of 2024. Source: Lewis-Clark Association of Realtors

Idaho County

• Following a change of ownership, Blackmer Funeral Home in Grangeville is now DeFord Funeral Home. Source: Blackmer Funeral Home

Latah County

• The University of Idaho was awarded a $1.3 million grant from the Department of Defense to focus on using machine learning models for early detection of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among military service families. Research will focus on how smart wearable devices can detect physical signals of PTSD and how deployment-related stress affects behavior. The project grant will fund three graduate students and two postdoctoral researchers. Source: University of Idaho

• The Moscow Volunteer Fire Department responded to a record of 3,046 incidents in 2025, an increase from the previous record of 3,002 in 2024. This represents an average of eight response incidents per calendar day. Source: KLEW

Nez Perce County

• The Lewis-Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce relocated from downtown Lewiston to the port district in northern Lewiston. Source: Lewiston Tribune

• Reliance Ministries purchased Bumper Crop Coffee in downtown Lewiston and will now operate it as Braveheart Coffee. Source: Reliance Ministries

• Union Gospel Mission held the grand opening of the new LC Valley clean-and-sober homeless shelter in Lewiston at the end of January 2026. It will begin receiving guests Feb. 2. Source: Union Gospel Mission

• American Cruise Lines will add a new ship – the American Encore –  to the Columbia and Snake River fleet in May 2026. Additional boats are scheduled to be added in both 2027 and 2028. Source: American Cruise Lines

Regional openings

• The Broiler restaurant, Moscow

• Harrich Law, Lewiston

• Peace of Mind Home Services, Lewiston

• IVO2 Infused, Lewiston

• Upwelling former prisoner nonprofit, Lewiston

• Patriot Gymnastics Academy, Lewiston

• SmasHouse Burgers & Tacos in Lewiston Mall, Lewiston

• Braveheart Coffee, Lewiston

• Dining on the Edge re-opening under new ownership, Orofino

• DeFord Funeral Home, Grangeville

Regional closings

• Blackmer Funeral Home, Grangeville

• Bumper Crop Coffee, 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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