Crescent Silver Mine in Idaho's panhandle. The region is known as the "silver belt".
Idaho’s chief economist predicts the state will remain in growth mode over the next few years, but the rate of that growth has been ratcheted down.
The Division of Financial Management’s quarterly economic forecast, authored by chief economist Derek Santos, lays out employment and sector growth through 2015.
The latest report estimates Idaho will continue to add jobs, although 2,500 fewer over the next three years than predicted in April’s forecast.
“Much of the drag on the labor market comes from a few slow growing sectors, like computer and electronics, miscellaneous Continue Reading →
Supervalu and CVS Corp. purchased the majority of Albertsons' stores in 2006.
Supervalu will lay off 20 administrative employees in Boise between now and the end of August, the Idaho Statesman is reporting. That news comes on the heels of the announcement this morning that the grocery chain has ousted CEO Craig Herkert.
Albertsons’ parent company suspended its dividend earlier this month, leading to speculation that Supervalu could be sold. Supervalu in February announced it would lay off 130 employees at its corporate offices in Boise. Those cuts were to be complete by February 25.
Minnesota-based Supervalu bought Albertsons in 2006. Albertsons local workforce has since shrunk from between 5,000 and 6,000 to between 3,000 and 4,000 employees.
The Legislature''s health care task force is meeting in Boise today.
The Legislature’s health care task force donned its waders this morning. It was time to take up the many questions surrounding the extent to which Idaho will implement President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
StateImpact has followed closely the implications of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling upholding the health care law. For states — especially those where opposition to the law runs high — the ruling raised two main questions: Will the state establish its own health insurance exchange, and will it decide to expand Medicaid eligibility as prescribed under the ACA?
Let’s take it question by question, and break down the highlights from today’s discussion. Continue Reading →
Sen. Dean Cameron co-chairs the health care task force.
The Idaho Legislature’s health care task force will focus on the Supreme Court’s health care decision in its day-long meeting on Monday. The 14-member group will hear from Department of Insurance Director Bill Deal and Department of Health and Welfare Director Richard Armstrong, among others.
The Monday gathering comes days before Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s two health care working groups hold their inaugural meetings, scheduled for August 2 and August 6. The governor appointed the two groups to study the main questions that arose for the state when the Supreme Court upheld the main components of President Obama’s health care law. Those questions are: should Idaho create a state-run health insurance exchange, and should it opt into the law’s Medicaid expansion? Continue Reading →
The housing bubble is a large part of what got the U.S. into its economic mess, and the sector hasn’t done its usual duty of leading the way toward recovery. But it did add .22 percent to GDP in the second quarter, and .43 percent in the first quarter, the WSJ says.
We have seen evidence of this turnaround here in Idaho. As the Brookings Metro Monitor showed earlier this month, no major U.S. city had seen more home price improvement than Boise as of the first three months of this year. Continue Reading →
Western States CAT, which sells and repairs Caterpillar equipment, has established its own training program to make sure it has enough qualified workers.
For years now, labor economists and many of us who have felt the recession’s effects have puzzled over the U.S. jobless rate. When will it come down, and why hasn’t it fallen more already? One explanation is the so-called skills gap. That’s the idea that employers are ready to hire, but they’re having a hard time finding workers with the training to meet their needs.
It’s an argument that has generated quite a few counterarguments. Are there actually not enough machinists or welders out there? Or are employers simply holding out until they find the perfect employee, someone they won’t have to train and bring up to speed? Are the wages they’re offering too low to attract skilled job seekers? Continue Reading →
A sign advertises new homes going up outside of Boise.
New home sales took a dive in June, falling by more than 8 percent nationwide. That’s according to a report out this week from the Commerce Department. But that national trend doesn’t hold as true in the Boise area, which accounts for a large number of Idaho’s new home sales.
According to data from the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service, 120 new homes were sold in Ada County in June, a 9 percent decrease from May, when 131 new homes sold. Neighboring Canyon County saw an increase in new home sales in the same period — from 21 to 28 — which compensated for most of Ada County’s drop. Taken together, the counties saw a much less consequential 2.5 percent decrease in new home sales.
“I don’t think we’re hitting a stagnation point,” says Marc Lebowitz, of the Ada County Association of Realtors. “The limited availability is what is causing that slowdown.” Continue Reading →
The Annie E. Casey Foundation report puts Idaho 26th in terms of kids' economic well-being. Click on the image above to the state rankings.
Nearly a third of Idaho children live in households where neither parent has a secure, full-time job. That’s according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Relying on 2010 data, the Kids Count numbers show an increasing percentage of Idaho children live in households where neither parent has reliable work — 31 percent in 2010, up from 26 percent in 2008.
Idaho Kids Count director Lauren Necochea looks to Idaho’s child poverty rate as an indicator of children’s economic well-being. That rate stood at 19 percent in 2010, compared to 14 percent in 2000. Necochea says that increase carries troubling implications for Idaho kids. “The increasing child poverty rates are concerning because of the long-term impacts,” she says. Continue Reading →
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