Regional news

Regional labor market information

• Labor force estimates for August 2025 from the Idaho Department of Labor’s Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) had total employment increasing and total unemployment and labor force decreasing in the seven-county southeastern region. Seasonally adjusted, August’s preliminary estimates have labor force participants decreasing by 34 people, with 150 more employed people and 184 less unemployed people. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 3.7%, a 0.2% decrease from July 2025 and 0.1% increase from August 2024.

Figure 1.

Southeastern Idaho, seasonally adjusted data	Aug-25 (P)	Jul-25 (R)	Aug-24 (B)
Civilian labor force	87,691	87,725	86,819
Total employment	84,470	84,320	83,654
Unemployment	3,221	3,405	3,165
% of labor force unemployed	3.7%	3.9%	3.6%
Source: Idaho Department of Labor	P – Preliminary, R – Revised, B – Benchmarked

• In August 2025 there were 2,544 unique online job postings in the southeastern Idaho labor market area, which decreased 11% from the prior month and increased 58% year over year. The median job posting duration was 27 days, a decrease of five days from July and an increase of three days from August 2024.

Figure 2.

Top 10 occupations by unique job postings in southeastern Idaho	Postings, Aug-25	Postings, Aug-24
Retail salespersons	117	101
Registered nurses	106	86
Home health and personal care aides	97	21
Customer service representatives	74	23
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	60	52
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	44	45
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	44	25
Laborers, freight, stock, material movers and hand	39	26
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical and executive	36	20
Nursing assistants	36	26
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• The top occupational families by unique online job postings in southeastern Idaho for August were health care, sales and office administration. Among specific occupations there were many postings for retail salespersons (117), registered nurses (106) and home health and personal care aides (97).

Figure 3.

Top 10 industries by unique job postings in southeastern Idaho	Postings, Aug-25	Postings, Aug-24
General medical and surgical hospitals	284	243
Limited-service restaurants	85	15
Colleges, universities and professional schools	72	63
Home health care services	61	18
All other general merchandise retailers	58	33
Elementary and secondary schools	53	93
Supermarkets and other grocery (except convenience) stores	48	40
Automotive parts and accessories retailers	43	17
Credit unions	36	3
Engineering services	35	6
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• Health care and social assistance, retail, trade and manufacturing are at the top of broadly defined industries by unique online job postings in August. This includes general medical and surgical hospitals, supermarkets and elementary schools. While most industries on this list experienced more job postings this year, elementary schools decreased by 40 postings.

Figure 4.

Top 10 hardest-to-fill occupations in southeastern Idaho	Median duration, Aug-25	Unique postings, Aug-25
Education administration, kindergarten through secondary	59	1
Electrical, electronic engineering technologists and technicians	59	2
Medical records specialists	59	2
Pesticide handlers, sprayers, applicators and vegetation	59	1
Pipelayers	59	2
Loan officers	58	9
Construction and building inspectors	58	5
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	56	5
Clergy	54	1
Telecommunications line installers and repairers	54	1
Source: Conference Board data via Lightcast

• Based on the hiring challenges by median number of days an occupational job posting is listed, education administration (59), electrical engineering technologists (59), medical record specialists (59) and pesticide handlers (59) stood out. Of these top hardest to fill occupations, none of them made the top 10 list for most in demand occupations.

Figure 5.

County housing data, August 2025	Median listing price	Month over month price change	Median days on the market	Active listings
Bannock	$419,950	-1.29%	64	368
Bear Lake	$600,000	0.08%	93	87
Bingham	$475,000	1.12%	55	178
Caribou	$367,450	-6.05%	73	53
Franklin	$504,500	0.70%	71	64
Oneida	$417,000	11.96%	82	22
Power	$399,225	-1.29%	68	22
Source: Realtor.com Economic Research

• In August, Caribou County overtook Oneida as the county with the lowest median price with continued downward price movement at -6.05% month over month. Oneida County meanwhile experienced an 11.96% price hike in its housing stock: these wide swings in median price are because Oneida has the least housing stock and is more sensitive to houses coming on and off the market. Bear Lake continued to have the highest median listing price in the region with little price change and the most median days on the market. Bannock County had the most housing stock in the region with 368 active listings while experiencing a 1.29% decline in prices month over month.

Regional news

Bannock County

• Cuts to federal funding postponed $24.5 million dollars in infrastructure projects including initiatives to install traffic signals and bike lanes along East Terry,  South First and the South Fifth Complete Streets and Sewer project in the City of Pocatello. Mayor Brian Blad contends that these initiatives are not abandoned and will seek alternative financing. Source: Idaho State Journal

• The Idaho Supreme Court ruled that it will hear the Northgate development lawsuit previously dismissed. The lawsuit pertains to the construction of the Northgate Parkway on contested land with hundreds of acres and $21 million in the balance. Source: Idaho State Journal

• Idaho State University again faced record enrollment with 10,402 students, a 521 student increase year over year. First-time undergraduate enrollment was also at its highest since 2011. Source: Idaho State Journal

• Idaho State University hired a consulting firm to weigh the costs of acquiring the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) in Meridian to fill the need for a state run medical school in Idaho. Source: East Idaho News

• Construction for the Pocatello Creek to Monte Vista pathway began. The new pedestrian pathway will enhance pedestrian and cyclist safety between these residential and commercial areas. The pathway operates independently of vehicle traffic. The build is part of a larger project to enhance pedestrian paths between Idaho State University and the Portneuf Wellness Complex. Source: KIFI News

• The KISU radio station based at Idaho State University (ISU), is facing financial challenges after cuts to federal funding. The station planned to increase personal donations by $35,000 and money from ISU by $30,000 to pay the part time staff and student employees. Source: Idaho State Journal

• Maple St. Sit N Sleep is closing after 26 years citing decreased sales. Owner, David Durk, does not attribute the closure to tariffs but instead competition with online shopping. The store will hold a liquidation sale and cease operations. Source: Idaho State Journal

• Construction began in south Pocatello for a new reentry center six minutes from the Bannock County Jail. The facility will house up to 100 inmates as they prepare to reenter society. The 23,500 square foot building will become Idaho’s sixth reentry center and will focus on education, vocational training and substance use disorder treatment for qualifying inmates. Source: Idaho State Journal

• Mo’Bettahs is slated to arrive in Pocatello with a targeted opening date of Oct. 17. The Utah Hawaiian food chain is going to be located in Yellowstone with construction beginning soon.  The restaurant intends to hire 35 people. Source: Idaho State Journal

• OC CBD opened in Pocatello, a budget wedding dress supplier. Source: Idaho State Journal, KIFI News

Bingham County

• Blackfoot Paint & Glass went out of business. Source: East Idaho News

• Snyds Glass of Aberdeen donated $2,750 to the Aberdeen Senior Citizen Center, Power County Senior Center and Blackfoot Senior Center. Source: Aberdeen Times

• The Aberdeen Fire District completed its new fire station addition. The new expansion increases the districts potential fire truck fleet. Source: Aberdeen Times

Caribou County

• The Soda Springs Geyser erupted again after $20,000 was spent rebuilding the geyser valve that timed the eruption.  City Councilman Paul Gritton stated, “The geyser is our premier attraction…When it’s down, it hurts all our local economy. Getting it fixed was a priority and we’re thrilled to welcome everyone back to enjoy it again.” Source: The News Examiner

Power County

• The Power County Museum is relocating to 590 Gifford Ave. after the building was donated to Power County by the hospital district. Source: Power County Press

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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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