Idaho's economy stood tall in 2024

While 2024 was a difficult economic year for many states, it was not quite so in Idaho. 

Sam Wolkenhauer, economist with the Idaho Department of Labor, was pleased with how the state held strong.

“Nationally, our economy has gone through a rough four years,” he said. “It was not a normal economy.” 

Going back to the pandemic and mass unemployment in 2021 to inflation taking hold in 2022 and unfilled jobs in 2023, Idaho’s economy remained solid in what Wolkenhauer called an “abnormal period” for the nation. 

“Idaho threaded that needle and made it through four years,” Wolkenhauer said. “Good is the word."

It did so without recessionary activity, without an economic downtown, while maintaining low unemployment, currently at 3.6%. 

“Which is what we like to see,” he said. “We feel really confident about the state.” 

Idaho avoided the financial woes of other states because it is an in-migration state. In other words, more people are moving into Idaho than moving out. 

The state’s population has grown from about 1.8 million in 2019 to close to 2 million this year, with many new arrivals coming from Washington, Oregon and California. 

Its population growth helped it avoid lasting issues from the pandemic. 

Wolkenhauer said some tend to focus on the downsides of growth, which includes traffic and building, but the upside of more people means increased spending, investing and hiring in the fields of construction, hospitality, recreation and health. 

“The two stars were construction and health care,” he said.  

Even with the impacts of COVID-19 fading, and even with inflation falling, people keep coming. The population has increased from 1 to 3% a year for the past five years. 

“It never slowed down,” Wolkenhauer said. 

He emphasized that he wasn’t saying inflation didn’t affect Idaho, as it did impact thousands of families as the cost of groceries, housing and fuel rose,  

“Inflation did create burdens on American households and Idaho is no exception to that,” he said.  

But the overall economy was able to keep charging ahead. So firm has it been, Wolkenhauer couldn't name an industry in the state that has seen a significant downturn. 

“It’s a good position to be in,” he said. 

 According to Wolkenhauer's October economic activity report, labor demand in North Idaho remained stable in September, with a total of 1,860 unique job postings in the region, a slight decline from 1,923 in August. The unemployment rate decreased slightly from 4.9% to 4.8%, increasing by 0.7% from September 2023. Overall, total employment has increased slightly over the last year. 

He cited a few major projects: Kootenai Health is constructing a new facility in Coeur d’Alene and upgrading its existing Women’s Imaging Center in Post Falls. The project will add additional mammography scanners, ultrasound machines and bone density scanners to provide better screening and increase capacity.

The North Point Plaza commercial complex is under construction in north Post Falls and early tenants will begin opening for business in the coming months. A 7-Eleven gas station is slated to open in December, followed by a Grocery Outlet in early 2025.

Camkels Holdings, a North Idaho-based development company, is planning a four-story mixed used building in Post Falls which will include 9,800 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 3,8000 square feet of combined residential space on its upper floors. 

The ground floor commercial space will have room for a total of seven tenants, while the residential floors will include a mix of 33 one and two-bedroom apartments. The project is slated for completion in 2026.

Some surrounding states, like Oregon, don't have Idaho's stability because they saw slight declines in population.

“If you look at the top line, Oregon is flat,” Wolkenhauer said. “But Idaho continues to grow.” 

The outlook for 2025 is more of the same. Wolkenhauer said he is wrapping up new short-term projections, but he said the Department of Labor is expecting the economy to grow at 1.5 to 2%. 

Would it be fair to say things couldn’t have gone much better for Idaho in 2024? 

“I wouldn’t say no,” he said.