JOB FRIENDLY

KELLOGG – Earning a paycheck has never been particularly easy in Idaho’s Shoshone County. Years of economic hardship followed the loss of hundreds of mining jobs during the 1980s. As recently as 2003, nearly 12 percent of the working population was jobless. So when the unemployment rate dropped below 4 percent in August, it represented quite a turnaround for this sprawling, thinly populated county nestled against the Montana border.

Strong job growth has pushed unemployment levels to record lows across the Idaho Panhandle.

The abundance of “Help Wanted” signs has benefited workers like Scott Marker, a 35-year-old carpenter from Kellogg. Marker used to commute to distant job sites, building log homes in Big Sky, Mont., and subdivisions in Nevada. Sometimes, he went several weeks without seeing his wife and four school-aged kids. The couple figured it was the price of raising their children in a small-town setting.

But now, Marker can be home for dinner every night. Last year, he was hired by Keeton-King General Contractors, an Oregon firm building ski condos and an indoor water park at Silver Mountain Resort. “I can be at work in five minutes,” Marker said.

While workers are benefiting from the tight labor market, business owners like Mike Hayman are feeling the pinch. Hayman wants to expand his 13-person welding shop in Wallace, but even at wages of $16 to $18 per hour, he’s having difficulty attracting skilled workers.

“We’ve been looking for people for probably a year. It’s just kind of a tough market,” said Hayman, owner of Mike’s Specialty Welding.

Once a region of surplus labor, employers in Idaho’s five northern counties now find themselves competing for workers.

Coffee shops to construction firms are advertising for help. In Kootenai County, where the unemployment rate hit an all-time low of 2.4 percent in August, fast-food restaurants are offering starting wages of $8 per hour to attract employees. North Idaho College has raised the starting pay for its ground crews and janitorial staff, but still can’t find people willing to work for $7 per hour.

“We can’t compete with some of the larger private industries and we definitely can’t compete with Spokane’s wages,” said Wade Larson, NIC’s human resources director.

The tight labor market is a result of several converging factors, said Kathryn Tacke, a regional economist with Idaho’s Department of Labor in Coeur d’Alene.

Robust job growth is a key aspect. Over the past four years, every industry she tracks has added workers, with construction among the leaders in job growth. Baby boomers and retirees are moving to the region with money to spend on new homes, fueling the building industry. Spokane’s economy is also expanding, pulling Idaho workers across the state line.

Due to demographic shifts, however, fewer young people are entering North Idaho’s labor market, Tacke said. The trend is especially pronounced in rural communities such as Shoshone County, where nearly one in five individuals is 65 or older.

Many young families moved away during past downturns, leaving fewer workers to respond to the county’s long-awaited economic rebound, Tacke said.

Mining’s resurgence is part of that turnaround. Fueled by silver prices of $13 per ounce, as well higher prices for copper, lead and zinc, Shoshone County’s mines are hiring again. About 460 people work in the industry, a 40 percent increase from 2002.

“Mining’s growth is important because of the high wages it brings,” said Tacke, noting that wages for mining jobs averaged $57,000 last year in Shoshone County, more than doubling the average wage of $27,000 for all other industries in the county.

But mining represents only part of the county’s economic growth during the past four years, she said. Jobs in retail trade have grown 17 percent over that period, reflecting the opening of a Wal-Mart and steady growth in jobs at Dave Smith Motors in Kellogg. The dealership, which attracts buyers from many parts of the West, employs more than 400 people. Construction employment, meanwhile, is up 60 percent. Tourism and manufacturing also are rising.

Shoshone County’s economic transformation mirrors broader changes under way in the rural West, said Steven Peterson, a research economist at the University of Idaho.

“A lot of the rural counties that have been distressed for a long time … are experiencing a change to a new economy, based more on technology and services,” he said. “It’s unlikely that you’ll see a rebounding of the forest products industry — or mining — like it was 30 to 40 years ago. People have been leaving whose skill sets don’t match the new realities of the new economy.”

As painful as the transition has been, many counties have made it successfully, Peterson said. They’re pulling in new residents attracted by mountain scenery and access to outdoor recreation, such as skiing, cycling and ATV riding. Some of the new residents bring their jobs with them and telecommute, he said.

Shoshone County’s job market still has its challenges, said Beth Grigg, manager of the Idaho Department of Labor’s Kellogg office.

About 12 percent of jobs in the county are seasonal. Grigg sees a spike in unemployment claims each October, when logging slows down, construction tapers off and Silver Mountain and Lookout Pass Ski Area hit a lull between summer recreation activities and the beginning of ski season.

“We have a lot of people who are working, but they want to upgrade,” Grigg said. “They may be looking for work closer to home, or better hours, or the possibility of getting benefits and higher wages.”