Idaho

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People searching for work, creating their own employment, and stories about those in the Idaho work force.

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Idaho’s Latest Good News-Bad News Unemployment Report

At first glance, it’s good news.  Idaho’s unemployment rate ticked down yet another tenth of a percentage point in August, falling to a three-year low of 7.4 percent.  That’s better than the national rate of 8.1. But, like the nation as a whole, Idaho is now facing an unhappy trend: its labor force is also […]

Schweitzer Engineering Plans To Hire 350

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories says it plans to hire 350 new employees. In a press release, the company says it needs more employees “to meet the increased customer demand for their products and services.” SEL is an engineering company with area facilities in Pullman, WA and Lewiston, Idaho. The job openings are for positions in manufacturing, research […]

Supervalu Announces Store Closures, Idaho Spared For Now

The owner of Idaho’s Albertsons stores, Supervalu, announced today it will close 60 stores nationwide by the end of February. The Minneapolis-based grocery giant will close 27 western Alberstons stores, 19 in southern California and eight in Washington and Oregon. Supervalu spokesman Mike Siemienas says the company plans to close eight additional stores, but he […]

Micron CEO Weighs In On Company’s Market Position, And Education In Idaho

Micron Technology CEO Mark Durcan spoke to a full house at the City Club of Boise today. It was an opportunity to hear the new head of one of Boise’s most influential companies and largest employers discuss its market position and future. Durcan stressed Micron’s strength in a notoriously volatile industry, and explained the strategic […]

Is Bonneville County A Solid Bet For Work? CNN Thinks So

CNN Money recently published a list of the 25 best counties in the country to find work.  At number 15, nestled between Houston County, Georgia and Cass County, North Dakota is Bonneville County, Idaho.  That includes Idaho Falls and part of one of Idaho’s biggest employers, the Idaho National Laboratory.  The lab is spread across […]

Supervalu Announces More Layoffs In Boise

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 […]

A Weak Economy Or Inadequately Trained Workers: What’s To Blame For Joblessness?

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 […]

Why One Idaho Company Is Growing Its Own Workforce

Even with thousands of Idahoans out of work, one Boise-based company can’t find enough employees.  Western States Equipment needs mechanic techs, jobs that by definition fall into the middle-skills category. About half of all Idaho jobs fall into this group: jobs like mechanics, welders, police officers, or air traffic controllers.  These are jobs where you […]

Report: Public Lands Support 15,000 Jobs In Idaho

Public lands, recreation, tourism and energy development contributed $1.54 billion to Idaho’s economy last year. That’s according to a report out this week from the U.S. Interior Department.  The department manages 12 million acres of public land in Idaho, or nearly a quarter of the state.  The agency also manages energy and mineral development on […]

Companies Receive Idaho Training Grants, But Make No Long-Term Promises

Last month, Transform Solar announced that it was closing and laying off about 250 people at its facility in Nampa. As StateImpact reported, the manufacturer of high-tech solar cells, had received $1.68 million in workforce training grants from the state of Idaho — money that the company will not have to pay back. It’s not the first time that’s […]

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