Economy

New data shows that the Mountain West region led the nation with $26.5 billion in manufacturing construction spending in 2022, up from only $4.2 billion in 2017. It's an indicator of the significant economic changes afoot across the region.

As the cost of housing continues to increase more and more people are finding themselves without a place to call home. Boise Valley Habitat for Humanity is trying to change that though. They have built more than 80 homes and helped many more folks who are growing older and want to stay in their houses.

Many animal shelters in our region are bursting with unwanted cats and dogs and the problem is linked to the nation’s housing crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Small towns in the Mountain West are leading the pack when it comes to economic success, according to a recent report by Heartland Forward.

Last year the economy saw a steep decline in consumer sentiment, an increase in inflation and added pressure to the cost of living crisis. This year economists, like Robert Spendlove, are visiting with Idaho lawmakers to discuss these trends and provide insight into how they may change or stay the same in the coming months.

The announced acquisition of Boise-based Albertsons by the Kroger Company still has to pass muster with federal regulators. But Albertsons is already facing pushback on a special dividend equal to about one-third of the company’s total value.

Home prices increased significantly during the pandemic, and markets in the Mountain West saw some of the country's biggest hikes. But now, some cities in the region might see those prices come back to earth.

Idaho Matters chats with the CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco about inflation.

A new analysis of state tax revenues shows that many states are ahead of projections made before COVID-19 rocked the economy. And some Mountain West states are the nation’s leading performers, while others are struggling to rebound.

In the Mountain West, more than a fifth of homeowners with a mortgage spend at least 35% of their monthly income on housing. Nearly 40% of renters region-wide spend more than a third of their income on rent.