NIBJ CONTRIBUTED CONTENT: North Idaho's Aging Workforce Has a Pain Problem — and a Local Solution
Ask a North Idaho business owner what keeps them up at night and you'll hear about hiring, housing, or wages. But in my years practicing pain medicine across our clinics in Sandpoint, Post Falls, Lewiston and Spokane, I've watched a quieter problem shape local payrolls, one that never shows up on a spreadsheet: chronic pain.
The demographics tell the story across all five northern counties. In Kootenai County, the region's economic hub, about 39,000 residents — one in five — are now 65 or older¹. In Bonner County, the share has climbed from 18 percent in 2010 to 27 percent today², and Boundary, Shoshone and Benewah counties run just as high³. Statewide, Idaho's 65-and-older population is projected to grow another 30 percent by 2031⁴. The workforce is aging along with the population — people are working later, and the most experienced employee on a payroll is often the one quietly managing pain.
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