Census Data Reflects Growth In Cda Area

Kootenai County had the secondhighest number of businesses with employees in Idaho during 1995, according to U.S. Census Bureau records released Tuesday.

There were 3,142 businesses in the county, compared with the 8,389 reported in Ada County, the state’s top location for business.

Kootenai County had a payroll of $594 million with a total of 29,777 employees in 1995. During that same year, Ada County employed 126,128 and had a $3.5 billion payroll.

Elsewhere in North Idaho, Bonner County had 1,185 businesses and a payroll of $162.4 million in 1995. Shoshone County reported 429 employers who paid $62.1 million for the year, while Boundary County had 306 businesses and a payroll of $37.4 million. Benewah County businesses totaled 278, paying out $54.6 million.

Statewide, payroll increased to $8.4 billion, up 6.4 percent from 1994. The number of businesses in Idaho climbed 3 percent to almost 33,000 in 1995. Total employment also rose 3 percent, to 379,161.

Services represented Idaho’s biggest private-sector employer, accounting for more than 28 percent of the work force. Along with Ada and Kootenai, the state’s top counties for employment were Canyon, Bonneville and Twin Falls.

, DataTimes