Who is Idaho’s largest employer? (It’s not who Idaho Labor’s top 10 list says it is)
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Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman
Here are Idaho’s top 10 Idaho employers as of 2023. Companies, nonprofits and government entities made the list. Six are based in Boise. | Darin Oswald
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — We’ve compiled a list of Idaho’s 10 biggest employers as of 2023. We used data mostly from the Idaho Department of Labor, plus some from the state controller, the Defense Department and St. Luke’s Health System.
Our list includes a mix of companies, nonprofit hospital systems and governments, including public-education institutions. Six are based in Boise.
The data from Idaho Labor reports employers’ head counts in ranges. Idaho Labor says its own top 10 list does not include one employer that declined to have its employment disclosed. Idaho Labor’s list also does not include the state and federal governments, though they make up two of Idaho’s three biggest employers.
And the winners are …
1. State Government
The state has more than 24,000 employees, according to the State Controller’s Office in Boise, the capital.
Roughly one-fourth of those work at Boise State University, which has 5,000-5,999 employees, according to Idaho Labor.
The State Controller’s Office said the statewide head count would roughly double if part-time student workers at the state’s universities were added.
2. St. Luke’s Health System
With about 17,000 employees, St. Luke’s is No. 1 on Idaho Labor’s list. Based in Boise, the nonprofit health system has hospitals and clinics from McCall to Twin Falls.
St. Luke’s keeps growing: It began construction in September to expand its flagship campus in downtown Boise.
3. Uncle Sam
When asked by the Idaho Statesman, Idaho Labor said the federal government has between 13,000 and 13,500 Idaho employees.
But the department acknowledged that its range omitted active-duty members of the armed forces, because they are not covered by Idaho’s unemployment-insurance program, whose data informs Idaho Labor’s top 10 list. Also, disclosing the number “would be revealing military concentrations that are confidential,” an Idaho Labor spokesperson said by email.
Yet the U.S. Department of Defense itself released a report in November saying that Mountain Home Air Force Base had 3,507 active-duty personnel in 2022. Assuming that number stayed roughly the same in 2023, it would raise Uncle Sam’s Idaho employment to 16,000 to 16,500 people.
4. Walmart
The Arkansas-based retail giant has 9,000-9,999 employees across Idaho, most of whom stock shelves, work checkout lines or unload trucks.
5. Micron Technology
Micron has 5,000-5,999 employees. The memory-chip-making company is headquartered in Southeast Boise, where it operates its principal research and development center and is building a $15 billion plant for memory manufacturing.
Micron is the largest for-profit employer based in Idaho. It reported having about 7,000 workers in the Treasure Valley in 2022, but in February began laying off workers companywide.
6. Saint Alphonsus Health System
The Catholic health care ministry also has 5,000-5,999 employees in the state. The nonprofit health system operates its flagship hospital, the Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, in Boise.
7. Albertsons
The Boise-based grocery chain has 5,000-5,999 employees at stores, its Boise headquarters and other sites.
The company, founded by Joe Albertson, opened its first store at 16th and State streets in Boise in 1939. Albertons announced plans to merge with Cincinnati supermarket chain Kroger last year, and the two companies are working to win federal regulators’ approval.
8. Battelle Energy Alliance
Battelle is a contractor that manages the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls for the U.S. Department of Energy. It has 5,000-5,999 employees.
9. West Ada School District
The Meridian-based district has 4,000-4,999 employees. The district, Idaho’s largest, has 58 schools and nearly 39,000 students from western Boise to the Ada-Canyon county line.
10. Boise School District
Along with 3,000-3,999 employees, the district has 51 schools and 23,270 students.
Idaho Labor lists Boise State as No. 8. It lists Coeur d’Alene-based Kootenai Health, with 3,000-3,999 employees, as No. 10.
Do you know which employer is missing from Idaho Labor’s list? Watch the video in the player above to find out.