Growth, recession, the transition of Idaho’s economy, and the effects of change on Idahoans.
Call center jobs have boomed in Idaho. The industry has added thousands of jobs in the state over the last decade. EMSI, a Moscow, Idaho-based company that analyzes employment and economic data, projects that growth will continue in the near-term. Data Source: Economic Modeling Specialists Intl.
Bob Lokken, CEO of Boise-based WhiteCloud Analytics, is three years into building his new company. It designs software for health care professionals with the aim of allowing doctors and others to interrogate vast amounts of health care data. Lokken founded it after his previous company, ProClarity Corporation, was bought by Microsoft. Recently, he showed me [...]
This week, StateImpact‘s “Bottom Rung” series is looking at low-wage work in Idaho. We’re asking why the state has an outsized share of minimum wage jobs. Construction employment was the starting point for the broadcast story that aired this morning. The construction industry suffered especially steep losses in the recession. In Idaho, the number of [...]
Idaho’s average hourly wage declined in 2012 according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Idaho’s average hourly wage for all occupations dropped from $18.52 in 2011 to $18.48 in 2012. That slide now ranks Idaho’s average hourly wage 45th among states. Despite that slip in average hourly wages, Idaho’s median [...]
Not long ago, you could hear the buzz of power saws all over the Treasure Valley. It was punctuated by the steady rhythm of hammers and nail guns. More than 10,000 homes went up in Ada and Canyon counties in the two years before the recession hit. Then, the sound stopped. “’08 and ’09 were [...]
The latest driver’s license data suggests more 20-somethings are leaving Idaho than ever before. The net loss of Idahoans aged 21-30 last year was 149. The data show 11,530 young people moved to Idaho from other states in 2012, while 11,679 left. Source: Idaho Department of Labor | Idaho Department of Transportation The Idaho Department [...]
There’s a brand new pizza joint in southeast Boise. It’s nestled in a mini-strip mall with a gas station, dry cleaner and hair salon. On a recent Friday evening, Franco’s Pizzeria was just starting to pick up. It’s a tiny place. The cash register is only a few steps away from the industrial pizza ovens. [...]
In the largest unexpected increase of the fiscal year, Idaho state tax collections were up 13.2 percent above projections in April. The Division of Financial Management reports tax collections totaled $483.9 million during the largest tax-collecting month of the year. DFM forecast April collections wouldn’t exceed $427.4 million.
One in 13 hourly workers in Idaho earned minimum wage last year. That’s $7.25 an hour.The share of Idaho workers making minimum wage has increased from 5 percent in 2011 to 7.7 percent of the hourly workforce in 2012. That bump means Idaho has a larger share of minimum wage workers than any other state [...]
Wages are lower in Idaho than in nearly ever other state. That’s often chalked up to Idaho’s rural nature and low cost of living. But recently, the state has lost ground. A federal Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows that Idaho has the largest share of workers earning minimum wage in the country. And that share [...]
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