Regional news

Regional labor market information

Figure 1.

South central Idaho, seasonally adjusted data	Dec-25 (P)	Nov-24 (R)	Dec-24 (B)
Civilian labor force	112,362	111,403	111,488
Total employment	108,658	107,818	107,591
Unemployment	3,704	3,585	3,897
Percentage of labor force unemployed	3.3%	3.1%	3.5%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine	P – Preliminary	R – Revised	B – Benchmarked

Figure 2.

South central Idaho job postings	Jan-26	Jan-25
Unique postings	2,082	1,483
Days posted	11	9
Number of employers	602	318
Average hourly wage	$25.54	$26.65
Percentage of postings with advertised wage	42%	30%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• While the number of unique postings and employers competing has grown from January 2026 to January 2025, the average hourly wage has decreased during the same time period.

Figure 3.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in south central Idaho	Postings, Jan-26	Postings, Jan-25
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	92	62
Retail Salespersons	70	48
Registered Nurses	69	52
Customer Service Representatives	45	24
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General	40	22
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery and Greenhouse	38	103
Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers, Hand	35	18
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	33	20
Cashiers	33	11
Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers	29	29
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers continue to be the top occupation in south central Idaho by unique postings in January 2026. Retail Salespersons took second place this month. Registered Nurses are in the third spot for January 2026.

Figure 4.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in south central Idaho	Postings, Jan-26	Postings, Jan-25
Health Care and Social Assistance	278	161
Manufacturing	269	175
Retail Trade	207	155
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	178	127
Accommodation and Food Service	130	68
Finance and Insurance	108	165
Wholesale Trade	100	58
Public Administration	70	63
Construction	67	58
Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services	67	30
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Health Care and Social Assistance was the largest industry in job postings in January 2026. Wholesale Trade and Accommodation and Food Service industries have seen a 72% and 91% increase in job postings respectively year over year.

Figure 5.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in south central Idaho	Median duration (days), Jan-26	Unique postings, Jan-25
Graphic Designers	27	14
Nurse Practitioners	24	5
Food Service Managers	23	0
Sales Representatives of Services (Except Advertising, Insurance Financial Services and Travel)	22	7
Tank Car, Truck and Ship Loaders	22	0
Coaches and Scouts	21	0
Counter and Rental Clerks	20	0
Surgeons, All Other	20	0
New Accounts Clerks	20	0
Computer User Support Specialists	19	0
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• The hardest to fill occupations in south central Idaho this month were primarily a mix of medical, clerical and sales occupations.

Regional news

• Mountain Rides has expanded its airport service beginning in the middle of February. The service will operate seven days a week from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Source: Idaho Mountain Express

Openings

• Treasure Claw – Twin Falls

• Tacos el Paisa – Twin Falls

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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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