New Report Predicts the Best Jobs in Idaho for 2012

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

EMSI says there are currently more than 11,000 nurse jobs in Idaho

A Moscow, Idaho based economic modeling company has released its predictions for the Gem State’s top jobs in 2012.

Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. or EMSI says registered nurses, nuclear engineers and electrical power-line installers and repairers are the three best jobs to seek this year.  EMSI says those three professions have seen some of the best pay and growth over the last five years.

“Jobs in Idaho have declined 5% since 2007, dropping from over 922,000 to an estimated 875,000 — a loss of about 48,000 jobs. For a state with a relatively low population, this is a lot, so finding the best jobs might be something of a challenge.” – EMSI

Here are some of the key points from EMSI:

• Most of the highest-paying jobs haven’t actually grown that much, and some have actually declined. Ten of the 16 jobs [earning more than $40 an hour] inched up by single digits, while judges dropped -5%, engineering managers -11%, and computer hardware engineers -22%.
• In the category of people earning at least $25 an hour, electrical power-line installers and repairers grew the most, 17% since 2007.  Registered nurses grew by 16%, added over 1,500 jobs.
• The worst plunges in regional specialization jobs are sawing machine setters/operators/tenders, wood (-32%, down almost 500), logging equipment operators (-27%, down 300), mechanical engineering technicians (-24%, down 180), and electrical engineers (-23%, down 465).

You can read more about EMSI’s study at its website.