Regional news

Regional labor market information

Figure 1.

North central, seasonally adjusted data	May-26 (P)	Apr-26 (R)	May-25 (B)
Civilian labor force	54,962	53,989	54,248
Total employment	52,891	52,025	52,192
Unemployment	2,071	1,964	2,056
Percentage of labor force unemployed	3.8%	3.6%	3.8%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine	P – Preliminary	R – Revised	B – Benchmarked

• The region added nearly 700 jobs compared to last year while the number of unemployed people remained essentially flat. Job growth during the month was led by gains in Latah and Nez Perce counties offset by small declines in the three rural counties of Idaho, Clearwater and Lewis.

Figure 2.

North central Idaho job postings	May-26	May-25
Unique postings	2,950	2,163
Days posted	29	30
Number of employers	632	416
Average hourly wage	$26.68	$27.38
Percentage of postings with advertised wage	42%	37%
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. Active job postings in the north central region increased by 9% over April 2026. Compared to statewide job postings, north central postings averaged four more days of median posting duration.

Figure 3.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in north central Idaho	Postings, May-26	Postings, May-25
Registered Nurses	217	174
Retail Salespersons	92	69
Physical Therapists	67	25
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	62	36
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	61	32
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	53	32
Occupational Therapists	52	29
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	49	23
Physicians, All Other	48	32
Customer Service Representatives	46	35
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations continue to have the highest number of job postings in the region followed by sales occupations. Compared to last month, job postings increased for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations along with office and administrative support occupations.

Figure 4.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in north central Idaho	Postings, May-26	Postings, May-25
Healthcare and Social Assistance	502	336
Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services	466	339
Retail Trade	258	216
Educational Services	197	275
Manufacturing	166	105
Finance and Insurance	146	148
Accommodation and Food Services	143	118
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	77	31
Wholesale Trade	68	37
Transportation and Warehousing	63	46
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Most industries had higher regional job postings in May 2026 compared to April offset by small declines within Educational Services, Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade.

Figure 5.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in north central Idaho	Median duration, May-26	Unique postings, May-26
Postsecondary Teachers	47	21
Food Preparation Workers	41	32
Production Workers, All Other	39	17
Occupational Therapists	38	52
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	38	32
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical and Executive	37	24
Obstetricians and Gynecologists	36	18
Medical Assistants	35	19
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	35	61
Cashiers	34	38
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• By occupational group, the north central region is experiencing the longest duration in filling positions within life/physical/social science occupations (at 43 days with 53 postings) and computer and mathematical occupations (at 40 days with 64 postings).

Regional news

• The north central region reported 17 average weekly initial unemployment insurance claims and 140 average weekly continuing claims during May 2026. Initial claim volume decreased 47% from the previous month and 11% from the 19 average weekly initial claims filed in May 2025. Continuing weekly claim volume in north central Idaho during May decreased 42% from April 2026 and 31% from the 204 average weekly claims in May 2025. This compares to weekly initial claims which statewide decreased 2% from April 2026 and 25% from May 2025. Statewide continuing claims also decreased 19% from last month and 8% from May 2025. Source: Idaho Department of Labor

Clearwater County

• The 19th Collective in Orofino hosted a grand opening event at the end of June. Source: The 19th Collective

Idaho County

• Syringa Hospital and Clinics recently upgraded their electronic health records system and remains focused on filling vacant positions. Source: Idaho County Free Press

Latah County

• The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality awarded a $7.3 million low-interest wastewater construction loan to the City of Kendrick to transition the current lagoon system to a mechanical treatment process. Source: Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

• Family Promise of the Palouse hosted an open house at its new Moscow location. Source: The Lewiston Tribune

Nez Perce County

• Lewis-Clark State College launched LC State Elevate for non-traditional students looking to finish their education or complete training for career advancement. LC State Elevate programs include a direct entry graduate program in nursing leadership and healthcare, career technical education, over 20 fully online degrees and a 3-year accelerated Bachelor of Applied Science degree. Source: Lewis-Clark State College

• Lifepoint Health completed its acquisition of St. Joseph Regional Medical Center from ScionHealth. The hospital is expected to maintain its existing employees, providers and current services under the new ownership structure. Source: Lifepoint Health

• Brighter Futures Clinic opened a new mental health service facility in Lewiston and will serve patients over the age of seven. Services offered include psychotherapy, Community-Based Rehabilitative Support and case management. Source: Daily Fly

Regional openings

• Stites Steelhead Market, Stites

• Handcar Tours, Potlatch

• Drew’s Room sensory center, Lewiston

• Walker’s Furniture, Lewiston

Regional closings

• Amy’s restaurant, Cottonwood

• Merrow Materials LLC, Grangeville

• Sunset Auto Vue Drive-In, Grangeville

• Mrs. Doodlemeyer’s Doghouse pet grooming, 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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