The state of Idaho has hundreds of positions that are “chronically vacant,” according to a new report from the Legislative Services Office (LSO), and the Legislature’s DOGE Task Force is weighing how it can eliminate jobs it deems “unnecessary.” 

Keith Bybee, Budget and Policy Division manager for LSO, presented the report on vacancies to the task force Monday. It showed that 439 positions across state government have been vacant since before Jan. 1, a length of time that Bybee classified as “chronically vacant.” 

And 1,126 positions were left vacant annually, on average, between 2020 and 2024. The state employs about 25,000 people. 

LSO analysts calculated an average percentage of filled positions in state agencies over the four-year period. Most agencies surpassed 90% of positions filled: 

• The Idaho Department of Education, for instance, had an average of 127 funded positions between 2020 and 2024. In a given year, 92.5% of the department’s positions were filled while nine and a half were vacant. Currently, two IDE positions have been vacant since before Jan. 1.
• The Office of the State Board of Education had an average of 55 funded positions during the same time period. On average, 94.1% of the positions were filled while three were vacant. Nine positions have been vacant since before Jan. 1.

LSO in the coming weeks will identify a dollar amount tied to the vacancies, Bybee said. Agency directors often distribute unused funds for vacant positions to existing employees to cover raises, he said. 

Rep. Jeff Ehlers, R-Meridian, who co-chairs the DOGE Task Force, said members will want to know the dollar amount. The task force likely will recommend to the Legislature’s budget-setting Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee how it can reduce the number of state-funded positions, he said. 

Eliminating “unnecessary” employee positions is one of three responsibilities given to the DOGE Task Force. Republican leaders from the House and Senate created the interim committee following this year’s legislative session. Its other two responsibilities are recommending ways to consolidate agencies and reduce employee travel. 

Click here to see LSO’s report on vacant positions.