What’s happening with Idaho’s workforce, wages? Panelists share insights, advice

Jani Revier, with the Idaho Department of Labor, set the scene: 

• Idaho’s economy is one of the top performing economies in the nation, leading nine states in growth after the pandemic recovery 
• Workforce participation is at a historic low, at 2.5%; economists consider 3-4% to be full employment 
• Idaho’s workforce participation has dropped 2.5 percentage points from pre-pandemic levels, from 64.4% to 61.9% 
• Idaho’s unemployment rate saw a historic low in February: 2.8%; the nation’s was 3.8%  
• There are about two open jobs for every unemployed Idahoan, so, even if all 26,000 people in the state looking for work got work, there would still be 27,000 unfilled jobs 

“As you start getting into those lower levels, it shows that there’s a really tight labor market…businesses are going to going to have a harder time getting the workforce they need in order to continue to expand or even just continue doing they work they need to do,” Revier told event attendees. “If we could magically reset things and get our labor force participation rate to where it was pre-pandemic, it would add 32,000 people to the workforce. But it’s not that easy.”

Revier and three other panelists offered their insights into Idaho’s workforce and wages April 7 to business leaders and other participants during Idaho Business Review’s Breakfast Series discussion at the Grove Hotel. 

Workforce 

One of the main factors driving that workforce participation rate is the retirement of baby boomer employees. 

“Prior to the pandemic, we knew that baby boomers, our largest generation, were beginning to retire; and they were retiring in higher numbers,” Revier said. “During the pandemic, that was accelerated; some reports say that the baby boomer retirements just moved us ahead five years from where we would otherwise be.” 

One of the most-affected industries was health care, and Georganne Benjamin, with Optum Idaho, shared what she has been seeing since so many in her industry moved to telehealth essentially overnight in March of 2020. Prior to the pandemic, about 5% of the provider network Optum Idaho works with was providing telehealth. 

“In the health care field, especially the behavioral health field, it is tough, and it continues to be tough, there’s a strain…the demand for services is even more than it ever was,” Benjamin said. “The key for us and key for our provider network is we have to be flexible.” 

However, in terms of strengthening its workforce, there are opportunities to retain Idaho employees and to bring some of those retirees back into the state’s workforce, and there are things that Idaho is doing particularly well in attracting and retaining workers. 

Charles Sterling, a Gallagher consultant, said some people who retired — such as those who took early retirement — are seeking to return to the workforce due to the rising inflation and insurance rates.  

The state has created more jobs compared to the rest of the nation, Sterling said, and people who do reenter the workforce get jobs quickly. 

“(Idaho) is able to make better use of people who are getting back into the market,” Sterling said. 

Rob Graham, with Express Employment Professionals, agreed, and expanded on that by saying people’s talents are being recognized quickly, and successful companies are streamlining their job descriptions — “really targeting what they’re after” — and their hiring process to more quickly hire people.  

“We’ve kind of shot ourselves in the foot,” Graham said. “We’re needing more and more people because businesses are doing so well.” 

He also said offering more part-time positions — potentially ideal for baby boomers — could help bring some employees back into the workforce. 

“Many of them don’t want to step back into those leadership positions they held previously, but they’re a wealth of information and can add huge value to your organization,” Graham said. By being a bit more flexible about who is and how many are being hired, “You can actually fill a lot of those gaps with two people where you would have normally had one.” 

While Idaho has gotten its fair share of retirees moving into the state, Revier added the state’s workforce has also grown with new people. 

“If it weren’t for that workforce growth, our economy would not be as strong as it is,” Revier said. “The labor force challenge Idaho is seeing is not unique,” Revier said. “It follows the national trend with very low unemployment and labor force participation rate.” 

Sterling also praised businesses’ retention efforts. 

“If you focus really strongly on retention, then recruitment becomes significantly less of an issue,” Sterling said. “If you hang on to your people, you don’t have to worry about filling vacancies.” 

Wages 

Wages are increasing at a faster rate than the rest of the nation, Sterling said. That’s another thing Idaho is doing well to grow and retain its workforce.  

The average hourly earnings grew by 2.3%, Revier said, and Idaho’s personal income has increased by 9.6% from 2020 to 2021. 

“That’s the largest percentage change in the nation,” Revier said. “The nation average sits at 7.4%…So we’re seeing wage growth in Idaho, but it still ranks 44th in the nation on per capita income. Even with this wage growth, we are not necessarily considered one of the wealthy states.” 

Some parts of the state do have higher wages, Revier acknowledged, and that is due in part to each area’s job makeup. Every region in the state is seeing growth, she added, and every region’s economy is doing well. 

“The Boise Valley, or central Idaho, has led the growth of the entire state,” Revier said, adding in northern Idaho, there is growth in the technology sector, and retirees are moving there.  

“It has probably been our slower growing region,” Revier said. 

In southwestern Idaho, such as around Twin Falls, “We’re seeing a lot of growth with agriculture, (and) manufacturing,” Revier said.  

The Pocatello area is also continuing to grow and is diversifying in a way not previously seen. Eastern Idaho has seen growth driven by its leading institution, Idaho National Laboratory. 

Benjamin agreed northern Idaho is a challenging area to recruit for due to being more rural, which increases travel time around providing services.  

“Looking at those clinical positions, we have had to make some market adjustments,” she said. Typically, the organization does an annual market adjustment and national market analysis. “Last year, we did a mid-year market analysis because we had to change and look at what we were compensating people to recruit them and to retain them.” 

“Part of your pay program and part of your total employment program needs to really focus on what you need to do to make sure that your employees stay with you and aren’t looking for other employment,” Sterling said. “There’s been a lot of recent surveys and research that’s been done by the Federal Reserve that significantly shows that much of the increases that we’ve seen in wages are due to people who are shifting jobs and changing jobs.” 

“The other thing I was encouraged (by)…We’re seeing a lot of companies that are taking a look at their pay mid-year and are making a small jump in their pay structures mid-year,” Sterling said. 

“Wages is always going to be an issue that’s driving people around, especially with the growth that’s been happening there,” Graham said, with averages between 2-7%, but the greater strain for many businesses is the entry level position wage growth. 

“We’ve seen more growth there than in other positions,” Graham said.  

Hybrid work and other possible company incentives 

Hybrid work continues to be an attractive option for employees across industries, and panelists shared what they are currently seeing. 

Benjamin said every position with Optum Idaho has the option to be hybrid. There are two days each week that employees are required to be in the office.  

“We call those collaborative days,” Benjamin said. “So individuals can see one another, interact…have cross-functional, cross-divisional meetings.” 

Revier said government is in a similar boat. With about 550 Idaho Department of Labor employees located across the state, “We’ve had to go through and reevaluate all of the positions that we have.” This has been done on a classification level, for fairness, Revier said. Each manager was asked to evaluate each position for telework eligibility. Individuals then sign an agreement, detailing what days they will be in the office.  

“We generally have set hours, because it’s a government agency,” she said. “So we don’t have some of the flexibility…but a lot of our workers that work here in Boise (commute), and saving them that commute was huge.” 

“It’s the flexibility that you have around your work schedule, to be able to run a couple of errands during the day, start work a little bit early at your own schedule, at your own pace,” Sterling said. “That flexibility, in our experience, is what we’re really seeing that employees are looking for.” 

He also agreed with Benjamin, that there are efficiencies that come from working together in person, and many people enjoy interacting in person. 

For jobs that don’t lend well to remote work, Sterling said there is a lot of self-selection. 

One event attendee asked during the question-and-answer session what incentives companies that rely heavily on in-person work — such as manufacturing — could offer. Graham said he has been seeing some companies, after talking with their employees, change shift schedules, such as to a four-day work week. 

Some advice 

To close the discussion, moderator Carsten Peterson, with Hawley Troxell, asked each of the panelists, “What advice do you have for employers around attraction and retention?” 

Benjamin underscored flexibility and advised staying in contact with each employee and understanding where they and their needs are at. 

“You want satisfied employees…to retain them, to build the culture and to recruit new individuals into your organization,” she said.  

“It comes back to that communication, like Georganne was saying,” Graham said. “You really need to know your people.” Graham added he recommends surveying employees periodically, “to find out what they want and if that’s going to continue to meet your business needs. If that’s not a match, “Maybe it’s time to move them on to something more.” 

He also said, when it comes to the hiring process, have clear expectations from the get-go with employees and potential recruits, and “be a person of your word.” 

Revier advocated for training for employees, and not only for roles needed. 

“Oftentimes, you can help with retention by giving your workers an opportunity for advancement,” she said, adding the Idaho Department of Labor has several programs that could help. 

Sterling said he is seeing companies move toward better designed, more formal compensation packages taking equity into consideration, not just for new hires, but for existing employees throughout the entire organization.  

“They’re realizing that it’s not just a series of making some quick, short, small compensation fixes with certain positions that they’re having a difficult time hiring,” he said. “Compensation really is not a one-dimensional subject…It’s kind of like a Rubik’s cube.”  

Company culture also came up. 

“This is a huge part, because if you’ve got someone that likes a relaxed pace and you’re all running a million miles an hour, they’re not going to fit in,” Graham said.  

“Other things that I’ve seen is just taking stock of what generations you have in the workforce…understanding the positives and negatives that each generation brings to the workforce, working on strategies to make them work cohesively,” Graham said. “We’ve got some awesome people in every generation.” 

Breakfast Series Workforce & Wages Moderator and Panelists

Moderator

Carsten Peterson, partner at Hawley Troxell and co-chair of the firm’s insurance practice group, has a civil litigation practice that includes personal injury, medical malpractice claims, insurance coverage, uninsured and underinsured motorist claims, insurance bad faith, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, employment wage disputes and transportation liability. Peterson is admitted to practice law in Idaho and Utah in both state and federal courts. Peterson has significant experience in defending health care providers in medical malpractice claims, catastrophic personal injury cases, wrongful death and transportation liability. He also defends employers in administrative complaints filed with the Idaho Human Rights Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) raising claims under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (race, color, religion, sex and national origin) and state laws. His practice also includes advising employers on a variety of matters, including paid time off, workplace harassment and discrimination, employee handbooks, as well as employee termination and discipline.  

Panelists

Georganne Benjamin is the executive director of Optum Idaho, a health services innovation company that provides mental health and substance use disorder treatment and services to more than 370,000 Idaho Medicaid members through a network of over 2,000 licensed providers statewide. Benjamin joined Optum Idaho in 2015 as director of strategic communications and was promoted into her current role in 2016, leading a team of more than 80 employees in Idaho. A graduate of the University of Idaho, she has held positions of increasing responsibility with Regence Blue Shield of Idaho, Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Utah and Cambia Health Solutions. She lives in Boise with her husband and two daughters and is a board member and past president of the Idaho Ronald McDonald House. Benjamin also previously served on the board of the Twin County United Way in Lewiston. 

Rob Graham is an account manager for Express Employment Professionals (Express) and has been with the company since 2019. He spent over 15 years serving Australia in the military — two years in the Australian Army Artillery before moving over to the Royal Australian Air Force as a licensed aircraft maintenance engineer, specializing in Avionics. Having traveled the world on exercises and combat deployments, Graham brings a diverse experience to the Express team. He currently manages the Caldwell and Fruitland Express offices and works closely with clients in workforce development, workforce strategy and professional development. Graham says he loves that by working at Express, he does nothing but help people, make friends and somehow earns a living from that! He currently serves on the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce, as chairman of the board, and is an ambassador for the Nampa Chamber of Commerce. He also works in close partnership with the College of Western Idaho’s Work Based Learning Center to enhance students’ work-based learning and retain local talent in Treasure Valley. When not at work, Graham enjoys being with his family outdoors — hiking, camping, hunting and fishing.  

Jani Revier is a fifth generation Idahoan, born and raised on a ranch in Three Creek. Governor Brad Little appointed Revier to serve as director of the Idaho Department of Labor when he took office in 2019. Prior to this, she was the administrator of the Division of Financial Management for six years under Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter. Revier also spent 16 years working for members of the Idaho Congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., and Boise. Revier is proud to lead more than 500 employees who strive to make a difference in the lives of job seekers, employers, government officials and Idaho citizens. Revier earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University and her post-graduate work was in agricultural and resource economics at Oregon State University. She is married to John Revier, director of state and regional government affairs for the Idaho National Laboratory. The Reviers have teenage twins and reside in Meridian. 

Charles Sterling is a senior consultant with Gallagher’s Human Resources & Compensation Consulting practice, where he manages client engagements and provides consulting expertise in all areas of compensation, including global total compensation management and administration, competitive labor market analysis, salary structure design and administration, compensation program communications and annual salary increase administration. Upon receiving his Ph.D. in business with an emphasis in organizational behavior from Ohio State University, Sterling joined the full-time faculty in the Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University, where he became one of the youngest recipients of the Valerie Scudder Award for excellence in teaching, research and service. Outside of academia, his career also includes full-time roles working within companies of varied industries, such as at Wells Fargo, where he helped establish a new pay program, and at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, where he established the first formal market-pricing methodology as head of compensation. Sterling’s experience as a total compensation consultant is extensive, having served as principal consultant within Mercer’s Human Capital practice for several years as well as operating his own consulting firm (Sterling & Sterling LLC).