An aerial view of Huston, Idaho on the border of Owyhee and Canyon Counties
One of Idaho’s largest private employers is acompany with a name that doesn’t really explain what it does. It’s called Marsing Agricultural Labor Sponsoring Committee Inc. It’s basically a temp agency for farm workers.
The company employs between 500 and 600 people in Owyhee County according to data from the state. And that’s a significant chunk of the local population. Census data estimates about 11,500 people live in the county — one of Idaho’s largest at more than 7,600 square miles. That means there are 1.5 people for every square mile. Continue Reading →
McDonald's manager Christine Ruiz interviews job applicant Antonio Rodriguez during a one-day hiring event at a McDonald's restaurant on April 19, 2011 in San Francisco, California.
New data released this week from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Idaho’s teen unemployment rate was among the highest in the country last year. Preliminary 2011 data on employment status by state and demographic group breaks down the jobless rate between sexes, age groups and race.
Idaho’s teen (16-19 years old) unemployment rate in 2011 was 29.9 percent. Three of Idaho’s neighboring states are also ranked among the ten states with the highest teen jobless rate, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. Continue Reading →
The big employers in Idaho just keep getting bigger.
Most of the top companies and government agencies five years ago have managed to either retain or expand their workforce, according to a new StateImpact analysis of data provided by the Idaho Department of Labor.
St. Luke’s Health Systems saw the largest growth, with its workforce of between 4,000 and 5,000 employees in 2005 increasing by about 4,000 by the end of fiscal year 2011. Continue Reading →
Tomorrow's story centers on Nowela Virginie, who came to Boise three years ago after spending much of her life in a refugee camp in Tanzania.
Idaho residents know well the reversal of fortune the state has seen since the start of the recession. The state, which not so long ago had the fastest growing economy in the nation, has been hit hard. In a broadcast story tomorrow, we’ll look at how Idaho’s economic troubles have affected the state’s refugee population, focusing in on a particular family.
First, a little background. How many refugees are resettled in Idaho each year? Here are the numbers, according the the Idaho Office for Refugees, which has statewide responsibility for providing assistance and services for refugees. Continue Reading →
Lawmakers could have $33.3 million less to work with next year. A group of Idaho legislators voted to approve Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter’s revenue estimate for the remainder of this fiscal year, but decided to trim nearly $33.3 million from his 2013 recommendation.
The 18-member Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee (EORAC) approved these figures on a 15-3 vote. The three “no” votes were from Rep. Cliff Bayer (R-Boise), Sen. Shawn Keough (R-Sandpoint) and Sen. Curt McKenzie (R-Caldwell).
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The revenue estimating process still has another step, though. These numbers will now head to the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee (JFAC) for their stamp of approval. But there is a chance JFAC will select a different revenue estimate.
University and college leaders are presenting their requests to members of the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee.
It’s education week at the Idaho Legislature. Today, tomorrow and Wednesday officials from Idaho’s universities and community colleges will be asking lawmakers to spend money on infrastructure, employee salaries and programs to keep their schools moving forward.
Governor Butch Otter’s budget for fiscal year 2013 recommends legislators appropriate about $254 million for universities and community colleges. Campus leaders requested nearly $294 million.
The Center of the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University compiles data on state funding of higher education. It’s called the annual Grapevine study. The Associated Pressreports overall state spending nationwide has declined about $6 billion, or nearly 8 percent, over the past year. Continue Reading →
Gov. Otter delivered his State of the State speech at the Capitol on Jan. 9, 2012
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter said Idaho will not and has not faced “staggering” state employee layoffs like many other states have during his annual State of the State address delivered Monday. But what does “staggering” mean? Idaho has laid-off 928 people over the last five years. The state’s total workforce has averaged about 24,700 employees during that same time.
The Associated Pressreports state and local governments across the country have cut hundreds of thousands of jobs since the recession began. Some of those cuts mean layoffs. Some cuts mean governments aren’t filling positions that were opened by retirees or people taking new jobs.
During the 2011 Legislative session 423 lobbyists registered with the Idaho Secretary of State. Those lobbyists represent 569 different organizations ranging from the senior citizens lobby AARP to Idaho potato growers.
Most lobbyists and the organizations they represent are required to register with the Secretary of State and file monthly expense reports detailing how much they spent on lawmakers for things like entertainment, food, advertizing and travel expenses. Lobbyists aren’t required to report their salaries, personal expenses or any other expenses that are reimbursed by their employer.
Here’s a list of the 30 top spenders from the 2011 session, January through May. (Annual numbers will be released at the end of the month)
Idaho’s legislative budget expert expects the state to end the fiscal year with $77 million in the bank. That’s if current projections hold.
Cathy Holland-Smith manages the Budget and Policy Analysis Division at the Legislative Services Office. She unveiled budget projections to a group of lawmakers and Idaho business leaders at the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho conference this week.
New data from the Idaho Department of Labor confirms what many people have suspected. The number of people who are underemployed continues to grow. In 2010, 14.2 percent of the workforce was underemployed, compared with 12.7 percent back in 2009. Statistics show most of the underemployed worked part-time or temporary jobs when they wanted and needed full-time work.
The Department reports 97,000 Idahos were considered underemployed in 2010, the official number of people without work hit a record 70,000 that same year. Labor Department spokesman Bob Fick says the underemployment number could be even higher because the recession has forced some workers to take part-time jobs for longer than five months because they can’t find anything better.
This chart breaks up the data by regions. Notice Southwestern Idaho saw a decrease in the official underemployment rate:
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