|
Sandpoint, N Idaho, & Bonner
County Employment
Over
the last few years, our unemployment rate has been at historic
lows. Well under 4% in recent years, our February figures at 6%
reflects Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort coming to a close, and
summer resort hiring not yet kicking in. With an impressive
manufacturing base, as well as being headquarters for companies
such as Coldwater Creek, Thorne Research, Unicep Packaging,
Litehouse Foods, and Quest Aircraft, there are always jobs.
However, our lumber and construction has slowed. Expect to see the
numbers much improved by summer. Because of the national press
that we continue to receive, businesses are moving here regularly.
As the economy improves, so will our construction and lumber
industries.
|
Bonner County...
...Had a population of 41,050
in 2007.
...Gained 4,215 residents between 2000 and 2007.
...Grew by 11.4 percent between 2000 and 2007, compared to an increase
of 15.9 percent in Idaho as a whole.
...Had a rate of population change that ranked 12th – from
highest to lowest – out of the
...44 counties reporting data.
Gained 25,490 residents since 1970.
Bonner
County's monthly unemployment rate
was 6.0 percent in February, 2008. This compares to 3.8
percent in Idaho as a whole.
Bonner
County's average annual unemployment
rate in 2007 . . .
-
...was 3.4 percent
compared to 2.7 for Idaho
-
...was less than the
previous year's rate of 4.3 percent.
-
...ranked 14th
– from highest to lowest – out of Idaho's 44 counties.
Unemployment Rate since January 2006
|
'06-Jan |
19,027 |
2.4 |
6.6 |
-0.5 |
|
Feb |
19,415 |
6.0 |
6.5 |
-0.8 |
|
Mar |
19,365 |
9.9 |
6.5 |
-1.0 |
|
Apr |
19,233 |
4.1 |
5.9 |
-0.6 |
|
May |
19,608 |
2.9 |
3.9 |
-0.6 |
|
Jun |
20,358 |
3.2 |
3.5 |
-0.6 |
|
Jul |
20,479 |
3.7 |
3.5 |
-0.7 |
|
Aug |
20,743 |
3.9 |
3.2 |
-0.7 |
|
Sep |
20,384 |
4.7 |
3.0 |
-0.7 |
|
Oct |
19,862 |
4.1 |
3.1 |
-0.7 |
|
Nov |
20,213 |
5.5 |
3.8 |
-0.6 |
|
Dec |
20,174 |
3.9 |
4.4 |
-0.6 |
|
'07-Jan |
19,815 |
4.1 |
5.6 |
-1.1 |
|
Feb |
19,738 |
1.7 |
5.2 |
-1.3 |
|
Mar |
19,626 |
1.3 |
5.6 |
-0.9 |
|
Apr |
19,720 |
2.5 |
4.4 |
-1.5 |
|
May |
20,321 |
3.6 |
2.2 |
-1.7 |
|
Jun |
21,280 |
4.5 |
2.3 |
-1.2 |
|
Jul |
21,884 |
6.9 |
2.0 |
-1.5 |
|
Aug |
21,629 |
4.3 |
2.1 |
-1.1 |
|
Sep |
21,374 |
4.9 |
1.7 |
-1.3 |
|
Oct |
20,981 |
5.6 |
2.0 |
-1.1 |
|
Nov |
20,881 |
3.3 |
2.8 |
-1.0 |
|
Dec |
20,693 |
2.6 |
3.5 |
-0.8 |
|
'08-Jan |
19,726 |
-0.4 |
5.3 |
-0.3 |
|
Feb |
19,603 |
-0.7 |
6.0 |
0 |
|
|
Population
Bonner County
experienced impressive population
growth in the 1990s as its
beauty, recreational opportunities and quality of life attracted thousands of
new residents. From 1995 to 2005, the county’s population grew 23 percent from
33,206 to 40,908, while Idaho’s population grew 21 percent and the U.S. population grew 13 percent. The rate of population
growth has increased considerably since 2003. The largest city, Sandpoint, with
a population of 8,105, and its suburbs, Ponderay at 697 and Kootenai at 480, sit
in the county’s center, while Priest River, with 1,909 people,
dominates the west and Clark Fork at 570, dominates the east.
Labor Force & Employment
Development of Schweitzer Mountain Resort and
Sandpoint’s reputation as a
haven for the arts have contributed to the growth of tourism. Schweitzer’s
expansion since 1990 boosted winter employment at local motels, restaurants and
stores. Schweitzer plans to expand further over the next decade. As important as
the winter tourism season is, the summer brings even more tourists. The biggest
source of new jobs in the 1990s was Coldwater Creek, the Sandpoint catalog
company. It grew from a small mom-and-pop operation to the county’s largest
employer. In 1999 and 2000, Coldwater Creek made large job cuts at its warehouse
and call center. Since 2004, its corporate headquarters has been adding workers.
Today, it employs nearly 500 people in Bonner County.
In Bonner County
manufacturing jobs rose 76 percent from 1,189 in 1995 to 2,090, while it fell 17
percent in the United States. Bonner County’s growth occurred as several
manufacturers — Litehouse, salad dressings; Quest Aircraft airplanes; Unicep
Packaging, plastic applicators; Diedrich Manufacturing, coffee-roasting
machines; Encoder Products, electronics — added jobs to the county’s mainstay,
wood products. Today, wood products manufacturing employs 840 people, while
other manufacturing operations employ 1,250. Rapid population growth and
expansion of the industrial base kept construction booming and fostered growth
of retailers, services and public schools in recent years. During the last two
years, Sandpoint has received considerable national attention as a great place
to live, and construction and real estate are shattering their previous records.
Economic Development
The Bonner
County Economic Development Corporation and the Priest River development
Corporation are working to bring more jobs to the county. They can show
potential employers the county’s high quality of life and low business costs
including low labor costs. The county’s resident labor force exceeds 20,000
people, and surrounding areas add 15,000 people to the potential labor pool.
Bonner County’s beauty, recreational opportunities, and small-town
lifestyle have made it one of Idaho’s fastest growing counties. Its
attractions also draw many tourists, especially in the summer and
during ski season. Although wood products remain important, more
than half of the county’s manufacturing jobs are in a wide variety
of other sectors. The largest manufacturer is Litehouse, America’s
largest maker of refrigerated salad dressings. Homegrown clothing
and accessories catalog company, Coldwater Creek, employs about 300
people at its corporate headquarters. Sandpoint Job Service serves
Bonner County.
- 2005 Update Occupational
Employment and Wages:
Excel
PDF
-
- Occupational
Information
-
- North Idaho
Occupations Projections Ranked by
- Highest Employment,
Fastest Growing, High-Demand, Declining and by Education
Excel
-
-
Employers
-
- Area
Information
-
- Socio-Economic County Profiles -
Bonner
|
Bonner County Data
Sandpoint Community Profile
North Idaho Wages
(pdf)
|
Labor Force |
Sept. 2006 |
Sept. 2007 |
|
Civilian Labor Force |
21,036 |
21,224 |
|
Total Employment |
20,117 |
20,649 |
|
Unemployed |
919 |
575 |
|
% Unemployed |
4.4% |
2.7% |
|
Idaho % Unemployed |
3.3% |
2,3% |
|
US % Unemployed |
4.6% |
4.7% |
|
Highlights for Bonner County: |
|
Total population
change (2006 - 2007) |
2% |
|
Total population
(2007) |
41,050 |
|
Poverty rate (2005) |
14% |
|
Number of jobs
(2006) |
24,744 |
|
Annual average wage
per job (2006) |
$30,590 |
|
Unemployment rate
(February 2008) |
6.0% |
|
Physician count
(per 1,000 population) (2006) |
1.46 |
Bonner County
Labor Market Information
Employment by industry
| |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
| Farm |
3.1% |
3.2% |
3.0% |
2.8% |
2.7% |
2.6% |
| Mining |
0.6% |
0.6% |
0.6% |
0.6% |
0.6% |
0.7% |
| Construction |
10.4% |
9.4% |
10.0% |
11.1% |
12.0% |
12.9% |
| Manufacturing |
9.3% |
9.9% |
10.4% |
10.5% |
10.6% |
11.1% |
| Government |
11.7% |
11.9% |
11.7% |
11.0% |
10.5% |
10.2% |
| Forestry, fishing,
related activities, other |
3.9% |
4.0% |
3.4% |
3.6% |
3.2% |
2.9% |
| Utilities |
NA |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
| Wholesale trade |
NA |
1.3% |
1.1% |
1.1% |
1.2% |
1.2% |
| Retail trade |
16.0% |
15.4% |
15.0% |
14.0% |
14.6% |
14.0% |
| Transportation and
warehousing |
2.3% |
2.3% |
2.2% |
2.3% |
2.2% |
2.2% |
| Information |
1.2% |
1.1% |
1.1% |
1.1% |
1.2% |
1.2% |
| Finance and
insurance |
2.9% |
3.0% |
2.5% |
2.4% |
2.8% |
2.7% |
| Real estate and
rental and leasing |
4.5% |
4.6% |
4.9% |
5.4% |
5.7% |
6.0% |
| Professional and
technical services |
5.1% |
4.9% |
5.1% |
5.4% |
5.2% |
5.2% |
| Management of
companies & enterprises |
0.3% |
NA |
0.4% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
0.3% |
| Administrative and
waste services |
2.3% |
NA |
2.6% |
2.7% |
2.5% |
2.4% |
| Educational
services |
1.3% |
1.3% |
1.3% |
1.3% |
1.2% |
1.2% |
| Health care and
social assistance |
6.2% |
6.0% |
6.6% |
6.8% |
6.4% |
6.4% |
| Arts,
entertainment, and recreation |
3.9% |
4.0% |
3.9% |
3.8% |
3.6% |
3.6% |
| Accommodation and
food services |
6.5% |
6.7% |
6.8% |
6.3% |
6.1% |
6.1% |
| Other services,
except public admin |
6.6% |
6.8% |
6.8% |
6.7% |
6.6% |
6.5% |
|
|
|
