Labor Market Pulse · Human Resources · October 2026
Human Resources Labor Market Report: Idaho Falls, ID MSA — October 2026
Idaho Falls wages jump 12.5% as hiring stalls and vacancies linger.
Advertised hourly pay in southeastern Idaho rose to $22.09 — up 12.5% year-over-year — even as nonfarm payrolls grew just 0.1% and time-to-fill stretched to 31 days.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Advertised hourly wage, SE Idaho: $22.09 — Up 12.5% from $19.63 a year ago
- Metro unemployment rate: 3.9% — SE Idaho, Sept. 2026, up from 3.2% in July
- Nonfarm payroll growth: 0.1% — Month-over-month, smallest gain among Idaho MSAs
- Time-to-fill: 31 days — Up from 27 days year-over-year
Key takeaways
Wages are rising faster than hiring is growing.
Advertised hourly pay jumped 12.5% year-over-year to $22.09 while nonfarm payrolls grew only 0.1% — a sign employers are bidding up pay to compete for a thin pool as headcount growth stays limited. Compensation strategy should treat this as a labor supply story that calls for retention focus.
Time-to-fill is becoming the real cost driver.
Days-to-fill rose from 27 to 31 in southeastern Idaho even as postings grew 13.8% — longer vacancy windows inflate overtime, temp staffing, and hiring manager burden beyond what base pay adjustments alone can fix. Workforce planning should model vacancy duration costs alongside wage benchmarks.
Idaho Falls is diverging from the rest of the state.
Statewide wage growth of 4.7% ranks Idaho third nationally, but Idaho Falls' 12.5% local wage jump against flat job growth suggests a metro-specific tightness distinct from South Central Idaho's cooling demand. Compensation benchmarking should treat Idaho Falls as its own market with its own trajectory separate from statewide averages.
HR support roles show a local-national pay gap worth tracking.
HR Coordinator advertised pay fell to $42,031 locally (down significantly) against a national rise to $50,460, and HRIS Analyst pay dropped to $82,739 versus a stable $95,000 nationally — a divergence that may reflect thinner local demand for specialized HR technical talent. Organizations recruiting remotely for these functions may find Idaho Falls candidates priced below national expectations.
Median advertised pay by role — Idaho Falls, ID MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation Analyst * | $77,711 | $94,509 | $104,408 | Moderate decline | $100,798 |
| HR Business Partner | $47,848 | $56,189 | $58,240 | Moderate increase | $83,900 |
| Benefits Manager * | $83,209 | $100,754 | $126,780 | Moderate increase | $118,618 |
| HRIS Analyst * | $79,904 | $82,739 | $102,500 | Significant decline | $95,000 |
| HR Coordinator | $39,520 | $42,031 | $44,951 | Significant decline | $50,460 |
| Recruiter | $42,484 | $56,143 | $79,473 | Stable | $67,234 |
| Payroll Specialist | $35,813 | $43,724 | $49,052 | Stable | $61,103 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Local market conditions
Idaho Falls' unemployment rate climbed to 3.9% in September across southeastern Idaho as new labor force entrants outpaced job creation, while nonfarm payrolls grew just 0.1% month-over-month — the smallest gain among Idaho's growing metros and a year-over-year decline of 1.7%, the steepest drop in the state. Advertised hourly wages rose 12.5% to $22.09 even as time-to-fill stretched to 31 days, a combination that signals employers are paying up for a shrinking, slower-moving candidate pool, with labor supply constraints driving the trend.
What it means
Rising advertised pay alongside slowing payroll growth points to a market where employers are competing harder for a smaller qualified pool while hiring volume stays flat — a pattern that should push HR leaders toward retention investment over recruitment expansion for 2027 planning. Longer time-to-fill (31 days, up from 27) compounds cost-per-hire and makes counteroffer strategy and internal mobility more important than broad-based pay increases. Consider reviewing retention incentives and internal promotion pathways for roles tied to Idaho Falls' anchor employers (INL, healthcare systems, school districts) before defaulting to external pay increases to close gaps.
Looking ahead
Early indicator: Watch whether Bonneville County's unemployment uptick (3.1% in July to higher levels by September) continues or reflects a temporary influx of labor force entrants. A sustained rise would support shifting hiring plans toward retention-first strategies.
Emerging pressure point: Time-to-fill has stretched from 27 to 31 days alongside rising pay — if this trend continues through year-end, expect higher reliance on temp staffing and overtime in healthcare and industrial roles tied to INL and Naval Nuclear Laboratory contracts.
Worth watching: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services is the only eastern Idaho industry showing flat hiring demand this cycle, measured by job ads, which track demand and often cover several openings each — monitor whether this spreads to adjacent white-collar functions as national information and professional services sectors also show softness.
Potential inflection point: Idaho's statewide wage growth of 4.7% is already the slowest pace since 2022; if Idaho Falls' local wage surge cools toward that trend in coming months, compensation plans built on current advertised rates may need recalibration.
Sources
- Idaho Department of Labor — Idaho Falls nonfarm payrolls grew 0.1% month-over-month, smallest among Idaho MSAs
- Idaho Labor Market Information — Southeastern Idaho advertised hourly wage reached $22.09, up 12.5% year-over-year
- Idaho Labor Market Information — Southeastern Idaho unemployment rate reached 3.9% in September
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS) — Idaho ranks third nationally in wage growth at 4.7% for 2025
- Idaho Labor Market Information — Days posted for job listings in southeastern Idaho rose from 27 to 31
- Idaho Department of Labor — Bonneville County unemployment was 3.1% as of July 2026
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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