UI county’s top employer, report says

The University of Idaho accounts for 54 percent of all the jobs in Latah County, and more than half of the county’s economic activity, according to a new study released by the university.

Three UI professors worked on the study, which was released Wednesday. Every two or three years, the university releases a report on its economic role in the region and the state, said Steven Peterson, regional economist in UI’s Business Department.

In general, higher education is big business in Idaho, the report found. Public universities produce about $1 billion per year in economic output, compared with the state’s $40.4 billion in annual gross domestic product.

UI accounts for about $430 million of that output statewide. In Latah County, UI’s economic impact is gradually growing, according to Peterson. In the past, the university accounted for 45 percent of the county’s total economic activity.

“What would Latah County look like if the hand of God reached in and pulled the University of Idaho out?” Peterson asked.

According to the report, 11,596 jobs in the county would disappear – both direct UI jobs and outside jobs created through the university’s multiplier effect.

Earnings in the county would drop by 54 percent, and sales and property taxes would drop by $18 million.

Based on UI’s historical growth rate, the university’s economic output could grow by more than $100 million over the next five years, Peterson predicts.