BOISE, Idaho — Idaho's skilled trades workforce is growing faster than all but three states, and employers still want more. A new national report ranks Idaho fourth in the country for skilled trades employment growth, with jobs up 16.3% from 2019 to 2025. It also rates Idaho fourth in the nation for demand pressure, a measure of how hard employers are pushing for workers.
The report comes from the Alliance for America's Skilled Trades, a coalition formed this year by BlackRock, Carhartt, Ford Motor Company and Google, which more than a dozen other companies have since joined. Its growth figures are based on federal Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment data.
How Idaho compares
The West leads the country. All five of the fastest-growing states are Western, and Idaho and its neighbors Utah and Nevada all made the top five.
Rank | State | Growth, 2019–2025 |
|---|---|---|
1 | Arizona | 22.6% |
2 | Utah | 19.9% |
3 | Alaska | 16.8% |
4 | Idaho | 16.3% |
5 | Nevada | 12.0% |
18 | Montana | 5.8% |
Not every state is growing. Sixteen states lost skilled trades workers over the same period.
Idaho by the numbers
The report counts 118,290 skilled trades workers in Idaho. Its demand pressure score, based on projected and actual demand, the mix of occupations and wage trends, puts Idaho at 78, fourth highest of 51. That is higher than neighboring Montana (73, seventh) and Utah (71, eighth).
Put together, the numbers show a state that has added trades workers quickly and still faces strong demand for more.
The report defines skilled trades broadly. It covers 124 occupations, including core building trades such as electricians, plumbers and pipefitters, carpenters, roofers and sheet metal workers, along with maintenance technicians, machinists, welders, transportation workers and engineering technicians.
Why demand runs so hot
Idaho's construction boom has been building for years. In March 2024, the Idaho Statesman reported that more than 70,000 Idahoans worked in construction and that construction employment had grown more than 27% since its 2020 low, according to Wayne Hammon, CEO of the Idaho Associated General Contractors.
Large projects add to the strain. At the time, Hammon said Micron's semiconductor expansion in Boise was expected to need about 4,000 construction workers at its peak. Joe Jackson of Idaho contractor Engineered Structures Inc. said Idaho had about 2,000 licensed electricians, and that the region's megaprojects alone would need more than 1,200 at their peak. Hammon also said trades wages had risen 15% to 20% in a year.
Those figures are from 2024, but they help explain why Idaho's demand score remains among the highest in the country.
The state's response
Idaho is leaning on two main programs to grow its trades workforce.
Registered apprenticeships. In April 2026, Gov. Brad Little set a goal of doubling the state's registered apprenticeships from about 4,000 to 8,000 by the end of 2029. Apprenticeships let workers earn a paycheck while they train, without taking on large student debt.
Idaho LAUNCH. The state's LAUNCH program pays 80% of tuition and fees, up to $8,000, for high school graduates entering training for in-demand careers. Adults can get up to $3,500 for short-term training. According to the program's 2026 annual report, LAUNCH made 13,858 awards to the classes of 2024 and 2025, and the state sent 10,600 offers to students applying for 2026–2027.
Construction is one of the top five program areas for LAUNCH students and the second most popular industry for adult participants, behind transportation. Electricians, plumbers, carpenters and welders are on the state's in-demand careers list, and joint apprenticeship programs for plumbers, pipefitters, electricians and sheet metal workers are approved training providers.
Gov. Little said Idaho is creating real opportunity by investing in practical, workforce-driven solutions. Wendi Secrist, executive director of the Idaho Workforce Development Council, said apprenticeships and LAUNCH are opening doors for Idahoans.
The national shortage
Idaho's push comes against a national shortfall. The Alliance's report finds that training programs nationwide produce about 55 workers for every 100 that employers need. More than 18 million Americans work in the skilled trades, and the report projects about 1.7 million trades job openings every year through 2035.
The report calls for better training programs, stronger links between schools, training providers and employers, better guidance into trade careers, and workforce spending planned around when and where demand will actually hit.
What to watch
Idaho is growing its trades workforce faster than almost any state, and its high demand score shows employers still want more. The test for the next few years is whether the apprenticeship goal and LAUNCH can produce electricians, plumbers and other tradespeople fast enough to keep up with the state's growth.