Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Lewiston, ID-WA MSA — September 2026
Lewiston holds Idaho's tightest labor market as wages outrun inflation.
Lewiston's 3.1% unemployment rate is the lowest of any Idaho metro and advertised wages rose to $27.02 an hour from $24.06 a year ago, a gain that is outpacing both statewide wage growth and the national wage-inflation squeeze.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Lewiston metro unemployment rate: 3.1% — Lowest of Idaho's six MSAs; state average 3.7%
- North central Idaho advertised wage: $27.02/hr — Up from $24.06/hr in August 2025
- Continuing unemployment claims: -13% MoM — Down 32% year-over-year, signaling tight labor supply
- National wage vs. inflation gap: 3.0% vs 3.4% — Real wages falling nationally; contrasts with local gains
Key takeaways
Lewiston is the tightest labor market in Idaho, not just a stable one.
A 3.1% unemployment rate against a statewide 3.7% and falling continuing claims (down 32% year-over-year) indicate labor supply constraints rather than cyclical softness. That tightness is a structural feature of the regional economy, not a one-month anomaly.
Wage gains locally are running counter to the national wage-inflation squeeze.
North central Idaho's average advertised wage rose over 12% year-over-year to $27.02, while national wage growth has slowed to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation. Local purchasing power appears more resilient than the national picture, a distinction worth making explicit to press or state economists drawing national comparisons.
Schweitzer's expansion signals manufacturing durability, not just one firm's growth.
New Nampa and Post Falls facilities opening in 2027 extend an Idaho-based electronics manufacturer's footprint without displacing Lewiston production, consistent with the metro's broader manufacturing diversification beyond timber and agriculture. This reinforces the sector mix underpinning the metro's job gains rather than representing an isolated event.
Flat August job counts deserve a second look before reading as stagnation.
Zero month-over-month nonfarm job change alongside the state's best year-over-year growth rate (1.0%) is consistent with a market that has absorbed available labor supply rather than one losing momentum. Low continuing claims support the supply-constraint read over a demand-side slowdown.
Median advertised pay by role — Lewiston, ID-WA MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $29,120 | $35,932 | $42,331 | Moderate decline | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $30,717 | $35,630 | $36,701 | Stable | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $39,520 | $43,680 | $43,680 | Significant increase | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $56,204 | $72,000 | $83,200 | Moderate increase | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $31,661 | $41,600 | $42,900 | Significant increase | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $44,720 | $47,840 | $59,800 | Significant decline | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $77,828 | $83,376 | $83,377 | Stable | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $32,240 | $44,720 | $46,800 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative * | $31,200 | $37,440 | $41,600 | Stable | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker * | $27,915 | $32,745 | $34,154 | Stable | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $35,067 | $46,203 | $62,400 | Moderate increase | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $38,610 | $41,600 | $43,680 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician * | $57,953 | $69,876 | $80,278 | Moderate increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $84,715 | $116,324 | $129,064 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer * | $114,276 | $151,388 | $170,000 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $85,521 | $120,596 | $137,146 | Moderate decline | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $47,580 | $49,920 | $58,455 | Significant decline | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst * | $75,000 | $93,103 | $95,577 | Stable | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager * | $53,769 | $65,000 | $70,900 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $46,702 | $62,731 | $72,192 | Significant increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $51,797 | $77,612 | $77,612 | Significant increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $35,630 | $38,750 | $48,002 | Moderate decline | $56,731 |
| Account Manager * | $65,000 | $99,499 | $113,137 | Significant increase | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $70,000 | $70,000 | $70,000 | No data | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst * | $77,780 | $96,636 | $103,667 | Stable | $98,279 |
* 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
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $61,649 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $45,666 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $40,560 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $57,812 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Information | $135,340 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $49,099 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Professional & Business Services | $58,553 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $59,101 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $37,263 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Government | $65,425 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Lewiston's 3.1% unemployment rate remains the lowest among Idaho's six metro areas, and the metro posted the state's strongest year-over-year nonfarm job gain at 1.0% even as August showed no month-over-month movement, suggesting a labor market holding steady rather than accelerating. Advertised hourly wages in north central Idaho climbed to $27.02 from $24.06 a year earlier, a gain that outpaces both national wage growth (3.0% annually, trailing 3.4% inflation) and reflects continued manufacturing investment, including Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories' expansion into new Nampa and Post Falls facilities slated for 2027.
What it means
Flat month-over-month job counts paired with falling continuing claims (down 13% from July, down 32% year-over-year) point to a tight local labor supply rather than weakening demand, a dynamic that matters for any commerce leader weighing facility expansion or new location decisions in the metro. Wage growth outpacing both the state average and national inflation suggests the local economy retains purchasing power even as national real wages erode, a divergence worth flagging to boards or economic development partners assessing regional competitiveness. Current conditions suggest commerce and economic development leaders evaluate whether local wage momentum is translating into measurable consumer spending data before treating it as a standalone bright spot.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: Whether Lewiston's wage growth trajectory (up roughly 12% year-over-year in advertised pay) persists amid a national wage deceleration will clarify if the metro is insulated from broader cooling or simply lagging the national cycle by a few months.
Early indicator: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories' 2027 facility openings in Nampa and Post Falls are outside the Lewiston metro proper, but statewide capacity additions by the region's top employer are worth tracking for supply-chain and subcontractor spillover into north central Idaho.
Potential inflection point: National payroll growth slowed sharply to 29,000 in September with downward revisions to prior months; if that softening reaches Idaho's southwestern and south-central regions, where postings and wages have already diverged, Lewiston's relative tightness becomes a more notable outlier worth explaining publicly.
Policy-relevant signal: Federal government employment losses and a 7.0% drop in Idaho federal government jobs in August bear watching for public-sector payroll stability in a region with meaningful government employment share.
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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