The volatile international computer chip market and the housing crash checked the expansion of Idaho’s energy sector in 2008, but it remains a vital component of the state economy.
A staple of the state economy since the recovery from the double-dip recessions of the 1980s, energy accounted for 7.5 percent of total employment and, more importantly, nearly 12 percent of total wages in 2008.
A fifth of the energy sector occupations are among the 100 jobs that will be the fastest growing, in the highest demand and best paying in Idaho over the next decade.
During 2008, Idaho identified over 4,100 energy sector businesses paying almost 49,200 workers more than $2.6 billion in wages. Compared to 5.8 percent of jobs nationally, energy at 7.5 percent of total jobs in Idaho has more influence on the state economy even after the fallout from the 2001 recession. Since the sector peaked before 2001 at nearly 9 percent of jobs and 16 percent of wages, it has steadily declined. The job share in 2008 was the lowest in over 20 years, and the sector’s contribution to total state payroll dropped below 12 percent for the first time.
The average wage in the energy components of Idaho’s economy during 2008 was over $53,000 compared to the average wage for all jobs of just under $34,000.
At its peak in 2000, the average wage in the energy sector was 80 percent higher than the average for all jobs. The average energy wage has consistently run 50 percent or higher than the overall average wage in Idaho.
The Idaho assessment is based on a method developed by Indiana and Purdue universities in 2007 to gauge the economic competitiveness of rural communities. As part of that effort, the schools identified 76 industries components and 98 occupations that together comprise the energy sector of the economy.
The full report, “Energy Careers In Idaho,” can be found online at http://labor.idaho.gov.