Even with recent cuts, region’s manufacturing sector remains strong

The manufacturing sector in north central Idaho still employs thousands despite a recent downsizing at Lewiston’s Clearwater Paper.

The paperboard maker is eliminating more than 70 positions in a decision announced in mid-January. The jobs included eight salaried employees and 15 hourly positions that were filled, as well as about 50 jobs that were not filled.

“Any loss of jobs is painful in the immediate term for the area, but it is possible they will be quickly absorbed by other local employers that require similar skill sets,” said Lisa Grigg, an economist with the Idaho Department of Labor in Lewiston, in an email.

Before Clearwater Paper’s cuts, manufacturers employed 4,000 people in Nez Perce County and as many as 2,000 individuals in Latah, Clearwater, Lewis and Idaho counties, Grigg said.

That’s significantly more than 10 years ago, when Nez Perce County had 3,700 manufacturing jobs and the rest of north central Idaho had 1,100 positions in factories, she said.

Besides Clearwater Paper, the major manufacturers in the area include Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Sofidel America Corp. and CCI/Speer, a Lewiston ammunition maker.

SEL is headquartered in Pullman and is the region’s largest private employer. The company has a staff of 2,750 in Washington, most of them in Pullman. It employs another 850 in Lewiston and 100 in Moscow. It also has about 3,300 employees who work in other countries.

The company invents, designs and builds products and systems that protect power grids around the world.

Clearwater Paper will have about 680 people at the Lewiston mill following the cuts. There are another 500 employees at a tissue mill owned by Sofidel America on the same site as Clearwater Paper.

The industry sector that includes bullet-making has about 1,700 jobs in the region spread over more than 30 employers, Grigg said.

Average pay for manufacturing jobs exceeds average wages in the region for all industries, Grigg said.

On average, manufacturing employees earn $65,000 to $70,000 per year, compared with the average for all sectors of $50,000 to $55,000 per year, she said.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.