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Unemployment drops in South-Central Idaho

Labor officials concerned about summer labor shortage
By Joshua Palmer
Times-News writer

South-central Idaho continued to buck the national trend of growing unemployment as the region's manufacturing and agricultural industries absorbed seasonal labor.

According to the monthly unemployment report from the Idaho Department of Labor, the greater Burley and Twin Falls areas - which encompass the five-county region of south-central Idaho - reported a year-over-year decline in unemployment for February.

The Burley area reported one of the state's largest declines in unemployment from 3.2 percent to 2.5 percent. The Twin Falls area reported a decline of one-10th of a percentage point, to 2.4 percent - about 200 fewer people who are unemployed.

Although the monthly unemployment report is welcome news during a time when the average unemployment rate in Idaho has increased to 4 percent, regional labor officials are expressing concerns about a critical labor shortage that may impact the area during the spring and summer months.

"We have several hotels and hospitality businesses like the convention center on the canyon rim that will all be opening this summer, but we are worried that we won't have a labor force to fill the jobs," said Jan Roeser, regional economist for the Department of Labor.

Three hotels, as well as the Canyon Crest restaurant and convention center, are slated to open in Twin Falls and Jerome by early summer. The city of Twin Falls has also approved plans for two additional hotels.

Labor officials do not know how many full-time jobs the businesses will generate. But Roeser said there is a concern about having a shortage of skilled laborers to work in the tourism and hospitality industry.

"In some cases there are people who need employment, but they don't have the skills or they are not what business owners are looking for," she said.

Southern Idaho Tourism has been working with businesses and other agencies to train employees in hospitality after the region reported that tourism revenues increased by more than $2 million from 2006 to 2007.

With new convention centers and the LDStemple scheduled for completion this summer, tourism officials expect those revenues to grow this year.

Elsewhere in the state, the unemployment rate increased due to a struggling housing market and poor retail sales.

"I think we are really insulated from what's happening elsewhere because of the good prices for agricultural commodities,"Roeser said.

Several thousand workers left the labor force in February, pushing the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate up another 10th of a point, or about 4,000 more people, for the second consecutive month to 2.9 percent.

Idaho's overall labor force declined by 3,500 jobs, to 755,300 from January's record of 758,800, mostly due to Micron layoffs in the Boise area.

Construction jobs fell between January and February for the first time since 2004. The loss of retail jobs following a weak Christmas holiday shopping season also contributed to the decline. The job loss was offset by an increase of 3,500 jobs in education.