Regional news

Regional labor market information

Figure 1.

Southeastern Idaho, seasonally adjusted data	Jul-26 (P)	Jun-26 (R)	Jul-25 (B)
Civilian labor force	84,804	84,370	86,589
Total employment	81,823	81,049	83,381
Unemployment	2,981	3,321	3,208
Percentage of labor force unemployed	3.5%	3.9%	3.7%
Source: Idaho Department of Labor	P – Preliminary	R – Revised	B – Benchmarked

• Labor force and total employment increased in southeastern Idaho while unemployment decreased month over month. This indicates some recovery in unemployment. At 3.5% unemployment, the region has decreased below average unemployment for the state.

Figure 2.

Southeastern Idaho job postings	Jul-26	Jul-25
Unique postings	2,623	2,850
Days posted	27	32
Number of employers	608	674
Average hourly wage	$22.71	$19.26
Percentage of postings with advertised wage	39%	41%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Unique job postings, employer postings, as well as the number of days those postings stayed open, declined year-over-year. As the labor market cools and employers have less trouble hiring, as reflected in the number of days posted, a decrease in total job postings is natural. Average hourly wages for postings also increased slightly in the same period.

Figure 3.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in southeastern Idaho	Postings, Jul-26	Postings, Jul-25
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	166	85
Registered Nurses	113	95
Retail Salespersons	95	121
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	82	120
Customer Service Representatives	62	66
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	52	61
Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers, Hand	44	36
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General	41	40
Nursing Assistants	39	40
Stockers and Order Fillers	38	32
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Postings in July were elevated year over year for truck drivers, nurses, material movers, maintenance workers and stockers year over year among the region’s most in demand industries. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver demand overtook demand for nurses this month with 166 job postings compared to 113 among nurses.

Figure 4.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in southeastern Idaho	Postings, Jul-26	Postings, Jul-25
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	267	296
Colleges, Universities and Professional Schools	66	75
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (Except Convenience Stores)	63	75
Credit Unions	49	45
Limited-Service Restaurants	45	71
Elementary and Secondary Schools	40	98
General Freight Trucking, Local	40	5
General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload	36	15
Offices of Physicians (Except Mental Health Specialists)	34	27
Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly	27	24
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Postings for top in demand industries decreased, except for trucking and credit unions. General medical and surgical hospitals still take up the majority of job posting activity.

Figure 5.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in southeastern Idaho	Median duration, Jul-26	Unique postings, Jul-26
Information Security Analysts	59	3
Optometrists	59	2
Postsecondary Teachers	58	13
Compliance Officers	58	4
Marriage and Family Therapists	57	5
Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers	56	6
Helpers–Extraction Workers	55	3
Cardiologists	55	6
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	52	4
Childcare Workers	52	4
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Postsecondary Teachers had the most unmet demand in the top 10 hardest-to-fill jobs list with 13 unique postings and an average of 58 days for those job postings to be listed. Information Security Analysts and Optometrists had the longest unhired positions at 59 days but had relatively few postings.

Regional news

Bannock County

• Lex Developments LLC filed a request with the Pocatello City Council for reconsideration pertaining to construction approval of an AI Data Center at the Defunct Hoku Plant. This follows an initial denial from the council and a follow-up hearing which took place, July 16, where this denial was upheld. The city has 60 days to respond to this request. If it is again denied, Lex Development LLC can file with Bannock County’s 6th Judicial District Court. Source: Idaho State Journal

• The Bannock County Board of Commissioners issued a 180-day temporary moratorium on the acceptance of data center permit applications. This gives time for the county to write new Land Use and Development Ordinance. This does not apply to the city of Pocatello, only unincorporated counties. Source: Local News 8

• Portneuf Health and Regence BlueShield reached an agreement to resume in-network coverage. In June, the contract between the two expired. The new arrangement retroactively applies. Anyone who received out of network care from Portneuf Health is now treated as in-network. Source: Idaho State Journal

• Idaho State University announced plans to build a second nuclear microreactor under the new U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Energy Launch Pad USA program. Source: Idaho State Journal

Bear Lake County

• Bloom to Balm, a new personal care retailer, opened in Paris, ID. Starting in 2025, owners began renovations on the building with the goal of transitioning from an online platform to a brick-and-mortar store. The store offers hand crafted balms. Source: The News-Examiner

Regional openings

• Boot Barn opened in Pocatello.

Regional closings

• Mama Inez restaurant closed in Pocatello.

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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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