Yearly Archives: 2012
Lawmakers and Industry Reps to Brainstorm Economic Boosters
Two tax panels will join forces Wednesday to brainstorm ways to stimulate Idaho’s economy. The Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee and the House Revenue and Taxation Committee are hosting a joint forum on the subject beginning at 9:00 am. We’ll be liveblogging.
Here’s the agenda:
- Food Producers of Idaho’s Brent Olmstead will talk about the food production sector
- Boise Valley Economic Partnership Executive Director Clark Krause will talk about creating jobs Continue Reading
Tallying Job Losses and Gains in Idaho’s Construction and Manufacturing Sectors
Jeff T. Green / Getty Images
A worker monitored a conveyor belt at a Potlatch Corporation production facility in Lewiston in 2006. The company has since laid off workers.
Brookings Institution economist Gary Burtless highlights recent national gains in the manufacturing and construction sectors after last week’s news that the unemployment rate has dropped to 8.3 percent. However Burtless puts those gains in perspective, writing:
Service-producing employers in the private sector are the source of an overwhelming share of net new employment in the United States. Since January 2011 the private service sector has accounted for four-fifths of private-sector job growth and more than nine-tenths of overall job growth. — Gary Burtless, Brookings Institution
Nationally, construction employment has increased by 2 percent since January of 2011. That said, construction payrolls remained down by about a quarter compared to pre-recession levels.
Compared to the situation here in Idaho, that actually sounds pretty good. Between 2007 — when construction employment peaked in the state — and the end of last year, the number of construction jobs in Idaho dropped by about 44 percent. Continue Reading
January Tax Collections Exceed Expectations
Siri Stafford / Getty Images
Idaho’s General Fund tax collections exceeded expectations for the second month in a row. The Division of Financial Management reports January collections were up $6.3 million above the forecast amount.
DFM’s monthly report says the uptick is due largely to better than expected sales tax revenues.
The sales tax contributed $103.7 million to the General Fund, which is $7.6 million more than was expected. This month also marks the second consecutive month the sales tax has performed above expectations. It should also be noted that January’s performance is an important milestone because it is the month with the year’s highest expected collections since it represents sales that took place during December. The fiscal year-to-date sales tax revenue of $627.1 million is up $9.6 million above the forecast.
Individual and corporate income taxes came in slightly below forecast predictions for the month of January.
Supervalu Laying Off 130 Corporate Employees in Boise
Supervalu Inc.
Supervalu bought the Albertsons chain in 2006.
Supervalu Inc., the parent company of Albertsons grocery stores, is laying off about 130 employees at its Boise corporate office.
Supervalu announced today the reduction is part of a nationwide move to reduce operating costs. Spokesman Mike Siemienas says Supervalu will reduce its workforce by 800. That’s out of a total workforce of 135,000 nationwide. Those cuts will be complete by February 25.
Siemienas says corporate employees in Boise are getting layoff notices this week. He says the roughly 130 positions being cut include entry level corporate jobs, as well as finance, IT and marketing positions. Siemienas says the layoffs do not affect store-level employees. Continue Reading
Micron Shares Dip in the Wake of Appleton’s Death
Micron Technology, Inc.
Micron shares fell nearly 3 percent today, closing the day at $7.73. That’s following the news of CEO Steve Appleton’s death in a small plane crash at the Boise airport on Friday. Micron named its president and chief operating officer, Mark Durcan, to the CEO position on Saturday.
Analysis of Micron’s position in the wake of Appleton’s death predicts the company may face some “short-term weakness” but that the long-term outlook for the company is strong.
A piece in The Wall Street Journal today indicates that Appleton’s passing may slow consolidation in the memory chip industry. The piece observes that “Micron is the last remaining U.S. competitor in an industry that American companies once dominated,” and describes Appleton’s influence this way: Continue Reading
Idaho’s Economic Confidence Among Nation’s Lowest, Gallup Says
Gallup
Click on the above image to see Gallup's interactive map.
According to a new analysis from polling firm Gallup, Idahoans are more pessimistic about the national economy than most. The state was among the ten least confident, tied with Nevada, Florida and Ohio.
Gallup explains there aren’t clear patterns among the states that register the lowest levels of economic confidence. “[T]he top 10 states vary by region and political leanings, including the most (Hawaii, along with D.C.) and least (Utah) Democratic states,” Gallup’s Jeffery Jones writes.
That said, Idahoans do have reason for concern. The state is one of the few that watched unemployment rise after June 2009, the date that marks the recession’s official end, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. (For a comprehensive look at unemployment in Idaho, be sure to take a look at StateImpact‘s new unemployment app.)
Economic confidence declined in all states in 2011, according to Gallup’s survey, but it declined the least in Idaho. The state has lagged in Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index since 2009.
Introducing StateImpact Idaho’s New Unemployment App
Idaho’s unemployment rate continued to go up after the recession was officially declared over in 2009. The monthly jobless rate didn’t start to trend down until recently, and it’s an economic indicator we’ve followed closely over the last few months. Our coverage is driven in two ways: data and personal stories. This web-based data application combines both.
Our app will let you visualize Idaho’s unemployment rate over time, and in each Idaho county. You can use the map to get specific data for the county you live in. Then, you can use the slider tool to see how the rate has changed in your area overtime compared with the state and national data.
On the left-hand side of the app you’ll find the personal stories we’ve been reporting for the last few months. The series is called Jobless in Idaho. There, you’ll find compelling stories of people who found themselves out of work and in many cases, with few options. It’s a series of stories we’re updating regularly as each of the people involved finds their next opportunity.
Essential StateImpact: Top Five Posts of the Week
The Knowles Gallery / Flickr
Little Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.
Each week we look back at the five stories getting the most clicks, comments and shares.
- Jobless in Idaho: Leaving Home for the Oilfields: Allen Brown was laid-off from the Clearwater Paper sawmill back in October. Now, he’s preparing to leave his family behind to work as an electronic tech in the booming oilfields. Brown’s story is part of our continuing series Jobless in Idaho.
- Micron CEO Steve Appleton Dies in Small Plane Crash in Boise: Micron’s 51-year-old Steve Appleton died in a single-engine airplane crash Friday morning in Boise. Micron is one of Idaho’s largest companies with more than 5,000 employees. We also have industry and local reaction.
- Private vs. Public: Who Writes More Paychecks in Your County?: Is the top employer in your county a private company or maybe it’s the local school district? We break down the leading employer in each of Idaho’s 44 counties. Continue Reading
Former Micron CEO Appleton Leaves His Mark On Idaho, Tech World
The Idaho Statesman
Steve Appleton became Micron's CEO in 1994. He died at age 51 on Feb. 3, 2012
Micron Technology CEO Steve Appleton died in a plane crash this morning. His death has been met with shock and sorrow in Boise, where Appleton was known for his influence as a business leader and philanthropist. Micron Technology remains one the state’s largest employers, despite recent cutbacks.
Retired Boise State University Professor Dick Payne, one of Steve Appleton’s early mentors, today remembered when he first met Appleton. It was on the tennis courts at the university. Appleton had character, Payne says.
“One of the things that stood out is – he never gave up,” says Payne. “He could be down a set and just pull it out. I admire that a great deal – his tenacity, honesty. He made fair calls.”
Former Micron CEO Appleton Leaves His Mark On Idaho, Tech World
Payne says Appleton was also a promising student.  “I think, ‘Here’s a guy that is going to do well.’ I had no dream that he could do so well,” Payne recalls. “I felt like – here’s a sharp guy, a good guy. And they win sometimes in this world!” Continue Reading