No longer business as usual
A housing development rises at 21st and Mullan Avenue in Coeur d'Alene.
COEUR d’ALENE — When it comes to bolstering the local workforce, Gynii Gilliam sees a lot of challenges.
And a lot of opportunities.
“This is still a good place to do business,” said the president of the Coeur d’Alene Economic Development Corp. “Always a good place to do business.”
Formerly known as Jobs Plus, the CdAEDC runs a tight ship with three full-time staffers, but it has a growing role in helping local businesses thrive while still attracting others to move or expand operations here.
Since joining CdAEDC nine years ago, Gilliam been instrumental in building a strong community economic development team she credits with helping close to 100 expanding and relocating businesses bring more than $150 million of new capital to the region.
Progress slowed to a crawl in 2021 and 2022 due to COVID.
“Everything was so up in the air,” Gilliam said.
But as normalcy returned, business expansion bounced back in 2023.
Gilliam said three larger businesses decided last year to expand to Kootenai County, but those transitions take longer and are not done deals.
The area still faces a shortage of workers in certain sectors, such as health care and service.
“Usually we have enough people engaged in our workforce,” she said. “We are still very short people.”
Part of that is simply due to a smaller working population.
According to the U.S Chamber of Commerce, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a major disruption in America’s labor force — something many have referred to as "The Great Resignation." In 2022, more than 50 million workers quit their jobs, following 47.8 million who did so in 2021. In 2023, this trend gradually subsided, with 30.5 million workers resigning as of August, the chamber reported.
A closer look at what has happened to the labor force can be better described as "The Great Reshuffle," the chamber reported. While quit rates remain high, hiring rates continue to outpace them as many workers have been transitioning to other jobs in search of an improved work-life balance and flexibility, increased compensation, or a strong company culture.
Gilliam said one way to fill the workforce is engaging the younger generation early. The CdAEDC is working with partners to encourage high school graduates to continue on to college or enter other career fields such as electricians, plumbers and carpenters.
“We’re really working hard to make sure our K-12 go on,” Gilliam said. "We’re trying to show kids there are a lot of pathways. We need to play to all the kids’ strengths."
For high-tech jobs, the CdAEDC has also been involved with the proposed American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center in the Inland Northwest.
The Biden administration in late 2023 announced it designated 31 technology hubs aimed at innovation and job creation. The local entry, a center planned in Spokane to serve the region, including North Idaho, was among roughly 400 applications received.
They are advancing to the next round and possibly landing $40 million to $70 million.
The center would combine applied education research, workforce training and advanced production, principally located in a 386,000-square-foot repurposed manufacturing facility near Spokane International Airport.
Backers believe it could create thousands of skilled, high-paying jobs and allow locals to keep up with the rising cost of housing.
“The tech hub could be a gamechanger,” Gilliam said.
She supports Coeur Terre, a major development on the outskirts of Coeur d'Alene's western edge that was approved by the City Council last year.
Coeur Terre would include 5% affordable housing.
“All of our industry sectors are continuing to stay strong,” she said.
The high cost of housing continues to be a roadblock. Gilliam said some can’t move here for a job because they can’t afford to buy a house — the median price of a single-family home in January was $478,000 — or even the rising rent and other costs of living.
But a tight housing market and growing businesses with open positions are good problems to have, she said.
"Those are signs people want to be here and want to stay here and work here," Gilliam said.
She believes this will be a good year for strengthening the workforce and CdAEDC will continue to be a player.
“We are always focused on making sure our existing businesses are staging strong,” she said.
