Top 10 Jobs in Pocatello - Where It's Illegal Not to Smile!

It is not illegal to frown in Pocatello Idaho today, but in another century, a law on the books did require a smile. It was good for getting along and good for businesses. In the 21st Century, Pocatello commemorates the tradition of the constant smile with the annual Smile Fest. It is as popular here as Forgiveness Day is in parts of Canada. It's pleasant.

Pocatello and its business incentives make foreign investors smile as well, and that is one of the reasons that this town was named one of the Top 10 Micro-Cities in North America for the Future. The city offers small town benefits of community connections and the growth potential of a metropolis.

Technology contributes to the status of aTop Micro-City among the field and this is shown with local employers like ON Semiconductor, the largest firm in the area. "ON" amazingly produces applications to serve all of the following: the automotive industry, computers/peripherals across varied professions, LED lighting, networking/telecommunications, power supply and circuit protection, and others.

Sustainability is targeted with wind power at Nordic Windpower, the product of two decades of R & D. They have proved that their own Nordic windpower technology is highly effective and efficient for over 10 years. This is a partnership among the Swedish, UK, and US professionals involved, and it works. Joining Nordic int he area is Hoku Scientific, active in solar and fuel cells as well as cleantech materials. The Bannock Development Corporation, listed in the links further below, wishes to bring more of these types of businesses into the Pocatello-Chubbuck-American Falls market.

Pocatello and American Falls are the largest cities in Bannock and Power Counties, respectively and are within 21 miles of each other. The Greater Pocatello Area takes in all of Bannock and Power Counties in Southeastern Idaho and crosses into the Fort Hall Native American Reservation in Power County.

Pocatello City is the second city in Idaho honored in the Top 10 List of Micro-Cities for the Future in North America, listed 7th after Idaho Falls. These cities are among 10 smaller cities in America and Canada that are attractive to foreign investors, to domestic business owners, and to workers. They are often attractive to young families and to Mid-Careerists as well as to retirees that are loooking either to continue some form of employment or to finally retire from work. Pocatello is home to approxiamtely 55,000 people in 2009.

Most people have heard of the famous Idaho Potato. It's an icon of American agriculture and dining. This Southeastern Area includes Blackfoot, Idaho, which is also called the Potato Capital of the World.

The area enjoys a lower unemployment rate than the nation in the first part of 2009, but the labor force has decreased somewhat. Some workers moved out of the area and some couples decided that the expenses of the second spouse working were greater than that person;'s income, so they quit.

Bannock County has been boosted economically by the activites of the Idaho National Laboratory in its work in cancer prevention and treatment agents. Expected infrastructure improvements in local highways from 2009 - 2012 are expected to facilitate business further in Bannock County. Power County has been increasing its work in sustainable energies with improvement in coal production and new wind farms. Irrigation companies in Power County are successful in helping to increase food crops as a revenue source. The unemployment rate in both counties is lower that state and national averages in the first half of 2009, Power County being the lower of the two at 4.9% and Bannock at 6.5%.

1. ON Semicondictor - IT technologies. 
2. Idaho State University
3. Portneuf Medical Center
4. Heinz Frozen Foods
5. Union Pacific Railroad

Largest Employer Job Listings

1. Voyage Healthcare
2. USMilitary.com
3. Gecko Hospitality
4. CR England
5. US Army National Guard
6. Sears
7. Idaho State University
8. Beck-Field & Associates
9. Portneuf Medical Center
10. Red Lion Hotels

1. Assistant Managers
2. General Managers
3. Store Managers
4. Financial Managers
5. Plant Managers - Operations
6. Kitchen Managers
7. Internists – MDs (physicians)
8. Occupational Therapists
9. Customer Service Reps
10. Cashiers

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Long-term employment forecasts for the Greater Pocatello Area predict the quickest growth in the following 10 jobs:

1. Customer Service Reps - matches actual job titles listed above.
2. Electrical & Electronic Engineering Technicians
3. Computer Software Applications Engineers
4. "Other" Engineers - not listed in major categories.
5. Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts
6. Conveyor Operators
7. "Other" Sales Workers - Does not include retail salespersons and supervisors.
8. Personal & Home Care Aides
9. Business Operations Specialists
10. Electrical & Electronic Equipment Assemblers

Additional Jobs Predicted to Be in High Demand:

1. Retail Salespersons
2. General Office Clerks
3. Janitors and Cleaners - not Maids & Housekeepers
4. Cashiers - matches actual Internet job listings.
5. Waitstaff
6. Heavy Truck Drivers
7. Mainstream Elementary School Teachers
8. Mainstream Secondary School Teachers
9. General & Operations Managers - matches actual job listings above.
10. Registered Nurses (RNs)

Fort Hall Indian Reservation is home to Bannock and Shoshone Nations and located in four counties in SE Idaho, including both Bannock and Power as well as Bingham and Caribou. The ruins of old Fort Hall, which was a stopover point on several trails blazed aross America to the West and the Gold Rush, are maintained on the reservation. A town called Fort Hall lies on the reservation and is the largest within reservation boundaries.

The City of Pocatello is named after Chief Pocatello of the Shoshone Nation, who made agreements with the Mormon settlers and their leader Joseph Smith. He also agreed with the US Federal Goverment to allow railroad lines to cross Native-held lands. The US Army came though and aditional conflicts occured because of this intrusion, resulting in 200 native deaths. Chief Pocatello tired to move his people West, but after some additional conflict, agreed to maintain them on a reservation beside the Snake River and was joined by some Bannocks.

The major industries on the reservation today include a resort and agriculture activiies involving wheat and potato crops.