Idaho’s unemployment rate has been at or below 3% for 18 consecutive months, and companies are struggling to fill open positions as a result, according to www.tribuneledgernews.com.
“That 2.8 is extremely low,” says Craig Shaul, research analyst supervisor at the Idaho Department of Labor. “We’ve been under 3% for over a year now and 4% for three years.”
From 2016 to 2026, the Department of Labor projects a shortfall of 41,000 unfilled and unrealized jobs because of the state’s labor shortage.
In addition to a labor shortage, many industries are experiencing a lack of skilled workers, and the construction industry has been one of the most affected sectors.
Former Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s 2017 Idaho Workforce Development task force concluded businesses, higher education institutions and the state are responsible for solving this issue. The three sectors are creating partnerships and training programs seeking to fill the gaps in the talent pipeline.
The construction industry was the first to report a lack of workers to the Idaho Department of Labor and has since experienced it the most.
“We saw this coming about three years ago,” said Teri Ottens, executive director of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry of Idaho. “Even three years ago, people were starting to see the lack of skilled tradesmen.”
The association recently received $30,000 from the Department of Labor to create carpenter apprenticeship programs for young adults. Currently, 10 apprentices are working at least 35 hours a week and receiving three to four hours of instruction to learn the job.
“We did ourselves a disservice when we started telling students and their parents if their kids don’t go to college they failed,” Ottens said. “We’re starting early to get them interested, let them know they don’t have to go to college if that’s not what they’re comfortable doing.”
In 2017, the Idaho Workforce Development Task Force concluded the K-12 education system needs to better connect students with careers by encouraging career-technical training and work-based learning.
