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Gem State Economics: Idaho is fastest growing state in job growth; Average 2015 unemployment rate was 4.1%
Boundary County data also noted
February 27, 2016
The Idaho Department of Labor recently announced that Idaho’s 4.4 percent over-the-year growth of seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in December 2015 was the nation’s fastest – the third consecutive month Idaho has held this distinction.

Idaho’s nation-leading nonfarm job growth of 4.4 percent was the largest gain in our state since 2005, with a seasonally adjusted increase of 29,100 jobs from December 2014 to December 2015. The greatest gains were in construction, manufacturing and real estate. Mining and logging, information, and state government were the only sectors to show declines.

Idaho unemployment numbers improved
Our state also posted good news in data on unemployment. Idaho spent most of 2015 close to full employment with the unemployment rate changing little throughout the year. In addition, the unemployment rate for 2015 was improved significantly over the previous year 2014 rate.

The state’s average unemployment rate for 2015 was 4.1 percent according to revised estimates released yesterday by the Idaho Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 4.1 percent rate was down from 2014's rate of 4.8 percent.

Labor force and employment increase
Idaho’s labor force showed an average annual increase of 15,946 people in 2015 for a total of 796,679, up 2 percent from 2014.

Statewide, total employment also increased in 2015, up 2.8 percent to 763,907, while the total number of unemployed dropped to 32,772, down 12.6 percent from 2014.



The revised annual average estimates are the result of a benchmark process conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The process takes into account updated and additional data to revise 12 months of previously reported labor market numbers by smoothing out the volatility of monthly change.

Idaho December unemployment rate
In month-to-month numbers, Idaho's most recently released seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was the rate for December 2015, which was 3.9%. With Idaho's December’s total employment at 774,543 and only 31,460 unemployed people looking for work, there were only 1.2 unemployed individuals per job listing.

Boundary County data
Locally, Boundary County numbers were not as impressive for the month of December 2015. Department of Labor statistics show Boundary County's total civilian labor force to be 5,132 individuals, 308 of whom are unemployed, for a seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate of 6.0 percent. More Boundary County residents were out of work in December than the previous month of November 2015, when the rate ws 5.2%.

Boundary County's December 2015 rate of 6.0 percent, however, was much improved over the previous year's December 2014 rate of 9.0 percent.
 
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