2008-06-07 00:32:28 -

- Porter Novelli Tricia Whittemore, 619-687-7018 tricia.whittemore@porternovelli.com Feeling the unemployment pinch? Not if you live in Idaho's Boise Valley.

The Idaho Department of Labor today reported May unemployment at 3.9 percent, nearly two percentage points below the national unemployment rate, which hit a 20-year high today at 5.5 percent.

"Companies in the Boise Valley are growing," said Paul Hiller, executive director of the Boise Valley Economic Partnership. "Executives are telling us that they can't get workers here fast enough. It's really the opposite of what we're seeing on the national scale."

The Boise Valley is a vibrant technology center anchored by a division of Hewlett Packard, Micron Technology and Microsoft Boise, as well as hundreds of high-tech

startups. The low unemployment rate and tight labor market has Boise Valley employers looking outside the state to recruit workers.

"Boise software companies are aggressively recruiting programmers and software engineers to the region," said Brad Wiskirchen, chair of the Idaho Software Employers Alliance and CEO of Keynetics, Idaho's largest privately-held technology company. "Technology, not agriculture, is the largest industry in Idaho, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the state's gross domestic product. We continue to see a high demand for skilled high-tech workers, and the region offers not only great jobs, but incredible quality of life as well."

According to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service, the 2008 median price for a single family home is $210,000. Idaho's cost of living is the second lowest of the eleven western states. The Boise Valley region also boasts a wide range of leisure and cultural activities, including skiing, fly fishing, hiking, biking, music and art festivals, museums, theater and wine tasting.

What jobs are available? Research commissioned by the Boise Valley Economic Partnership found that opportunities exist for accountants, actuaries, attorneys, carpenters, credit representatives, dock workers, drivers, electricians, engineers, fabricators, factory workers, IT/technical support staff, line packaging technicians, nurses, pharmacists, pressmen, programmers, psychiatrists, radiologists, receptionists, sales representatives, structural engineers, surveyors, upper managers and Web site developers. A full report is available at www.bvep.org/assets/docs/ReportFocusGroup.pdf.

"When we look at what is happening nationally, the Boise Valley business climate is encouraging," said Hiller. "No doubt, this is a great place to work and do business."

Economy.com ranks Idaho among the 10 states with the lowest overall costs of doing business.

An online survey of 671 Boise Valley business owners and senior managers about business retention and expansion efforts found that:

-- Sixty-eight percent reported that their company's local facilities employ more people now than they did five years ago.

-- Forty-one percent reported that they expect their company's local facilities will expand in square footage with the next five years.

-- Forty-four percent said that the local business environment is more favorable now than it was five years ago.

-- Nearly 88 percent said that their companies are likely or certain to stay in the Boise Valley.

The complete survey can be found at www.bvep.org/assets/docs/SurveyReport.pdf.

About the Boise Valley Economic Partnership:

The Boise Valley Economic Partnership (BVEP) is the regional economic development organization for the Boise metro area, which includes the surrounding cities of Nampa, Meridian, Caldwell, Eagle, Star and more. Driven by a partnership of communities, educational institutions, chamber organizations and businesses, BVEP is executing a long-term mission to create jobs, encourage investment in the community and maintain a high quality of life. BVEP provides customized, confidential and free services to businesses that are relocating, expanding or starting up in the Boise metro area. For more information, visit www.bvep.org.

Region's Low Unemployment Leads to Increased Recruitment by Boise
Valley Companies