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Idaho's unemployment holds at 3.8 percent |
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November 22, 2016 |
Idaho's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
held at 3.8 percent in October. Nationally, the
unemployment rate decreased from 5 percent to
4.9 percent.
Total nonfarm over-the-year job growth in
October was a net gain of 14,700, or 2.2
percent, with all sectors except natural
resources experiencing over-the-year job growth.
Month-to-month, growth in the state's seasonally
adjusted nonfarm payrolls experienced a slight
decline of 400 jobs between September and
October. Gains in manufacturing, financial
activities, education and health and leisure and
hospitality were offset by jobs shed in natural
resources, construction, trade and
transportation, professional and business
services and government sectors. Information and
other services were unchanged.
Idaho’s labor force, employment and unemployment
changed little in October from September with
the labor force decreasing by 200 to 813,000,
employment unchanged at 782,100 and the number
of unemployed Idahoans falling by 200 people to
30,900.
The state's labor force participation rate
declined slightly to 64 percent; nationally the
rate dropped to 62.8 percent.
According to the Conference Board, a Washington,
D.C., think tank, there were about 24,200 online
postings for Idaho jobs in October. Of those,
4,600 were classified by department analysts as
hard-to-fill. Health care jobs continued to
account for more than 28 percent of those jobs
and included physicians, surgeons, psychiatrists
and occupational and physical therapists. By
volume, registered nurses and truck drivers
maintained the first and second spots for the
largest number of hard-to-fill jobs.
Annually, unemployment benefit payments were up
from October 2015 by 5.1 percent - from $1.2
million a year ago to $1.3 million for October
2016. The number of weeks compensated dropped
1.8 percent over the year.
Nineteen of Idaho’s 44 counties had unemployment
rates above the state rate. Madison County
continued to experience the lowest unemployment
rate at 2.1 percent. Five counties experienced
rates above 6 percent: Clearwater (8.1 percent),
Shoshone (6.6 percent), Benewah and Adams (6.4
percent) and Lemhi (6.3 percent).
The Idaho Falls metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
reported the lowest unemployment rate of all
MSAs at 2.9 percent, down from 3.1 percent one
year earlier. The Coeur d’Alene MSA experienced
the highest unemployment rate among the MSAs at
4.5 percent, down from 4.9 percent the previous
October.
Details on Idaho’s unemployment picture can be
found at
lmi.Idaho.gov. |
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