Regional news

Regional labor market information

Figure 1.

Southeastern Idaho job postings	Oct-25	Oct-24
Unique postings	1,091	582
Days posted	8	15
Number of employers	342	194
Average hourly wage	$20.98	$19.26
Percentage of postings with advertised wage	51%	35%
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Postings and the number of employers hiring have increased, but this is likely not a real shift.
• The Conference Board recently changed how they cover job boards to include smaller specialist boards after a policy change of Indeed.com to limit access for this series. This means data after May 2025 will be elevated compared to previous years.

Figure 2.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in southeastern Idaho	Postings, Oct-25	Postings, Oct-24
Registered nurses	57	28
Retail salespersons	41	33
Home health and personal care aides	34	7
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	30	24
Postal service clerks	27	0
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	24	15
Maintenance and repair workers, general	23	7
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	22	16
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical and executive	20	7
Postal service mail sorters, processors and processing machine operators	20	0
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Post office related positions were elevated at approximately 47 postings including mail sorters and clerks. Both positions had zero postings in October of last year.

Figure 3.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in southeastern Idaho	Postings, Oct-25	Postings, Oct-24
General medical and surgical hospitals	96	59
Postal service	74	0
Limited-service restaurants	38	6
Supermarkets and other grocery (except convenience stores)	27	25
Home health care services	27	4
Direct health and medical insurance carriers	21	18
Gasoline stations with convenience stores	18	13
Credit unions	18	0
Colleges, universities and professional schools	18	23
Commercial and institutional building construction	17	12
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Again, the postal service industry has approximately 74 new postings in October of 2025 which is an increase from zero, last year.

Figure 4.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in southeastern Idaho	Median duration, Oct-25	Unique postings, Oct-25
Compensation and benefits managers	25	1
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	24	4
Stockers and order fillers	24	6
Health technologists and technicians, all other	22	8
Industrial production managers	22	3
Health care social workers	21	1
Pharmacy technicians	17	5
Dietitians and nutritionists	17	1
Speech-language pathologists	17	1
Radiologic technologists and technicians	17	1
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine

• Most occupations on this list have around 20 days advertised but all of them have relatively few openings. Even though these listed positions are hard to fill, they are distinct from occupations that are in high demand.

Regional news

Bannock County

• Idaho State University students are being offered full-time tuition and living expenses from the Idaho Making Progress Against Critical Teacher Shortages in STEM (IMPACTS in STEM) program. The National Science Foundation is providing the $1.2 million grant. Participants first earn an undergrad STEM degree from the College of Science and Engineering then, secondly, a Masters of Arts in Teaching in the College of Education. There are currently three students, one in the graduate phase and two in the undergraduate. Source: KIFI News

• Lava Hot Springs was temporarily closed for renovations. Source: KPVI News

• The Bannock County Youth Development Center opened officially. The facility partners with the Pocatello Chubbuck School District and Bannock County Juvenile Justice to provide classrooms, behavioral intervention and extracurricular activities catered to at- risk youth. This facility replaces the old center which was a repurposed jail above the county elections office. The project was funded with $2.6 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. Source: KPVI News

Bingham County

• The city of Blackfoot secured a deal with the Snake River Valley Irrigation District to recharge Jensen Grove Lake. Snake River Valley Irrigation will be managing the lake and will accordingly be paid 25% of recharge revenue in the new deal. 75% of the revenue will be held by the city for Jensen Grove capital improvements. Source: Bingham News Chronicle

Caribou County

• The future sight of the Grace Clinic, of the Caribou Medical Center, recently broke ground. The clinic will provide county residents care with extended hours 12 miles east from the main hospital. Source: Idaho State Journal

• Turner Mining Group began operating of the Soda Springs Phosphate mine under a six-year contract. Headquartered in Bloomington Indiana, the new contract will support 125 jobs. Source: The News Examiner

Regional openings

• Idaho State University (ISU) football player Junior Damuni opened a Pocatello and ISU themed line of apparel.

• The Mexican/El Salvador inspired bakery Panaderia opened in Preston.

• The Aslett Clean World Foundation and Idaho Coffee Company opened a joint coffee shop in the Pocatello Museum of Clean.

• Jeri’s Jumbo’s Café, based in Pocatello, opened a new food truck.
  

Regional closings

• Sydney’s restaurant in Preston closed its doors.

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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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