Idaho Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.2 Percent in August

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Sept. 18, 2020
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Karen Jarboe Singletary, karen.jarboesingletary@labor.idaho.gov

– State recovers 7,000 nonfarm Jobs –

Idaho regained 7,000 nonfarm jobs in August and the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from a revised rate of 5.1 percent in July to 4.2 percent – the third lowest rate in the nation.

Last month’s job gains left the state with an over-the-year decrease of 0.7 percent, making Idaho the least affected state in the nation for August job losses due to the economic disruption caused by COVID-19. Utah was second with a 1.8 percent decrease.

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Idaho’s Weekly Unemployment Initial Claims Fall 4 Percent from Previous Week

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Sept. 17, 2020
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Salvador Vazquez, Salvador.Vazquez@labor.idaho.gov

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits totaled 3,672 for the week ending Sept. 12, dropping by 4 percent – or 132 claims – from the previous week.

The four-week moving average held steady at 3,739 new initial claims per week.

Continued claims – the number of people who requested a benefit payment – continued to fall, dropping 12 percent from the previous week to 11,510, the 19th consecutive week of declines. The four-week moving average for continued claims also fell 12 percent – from 15,658 for the week ending Sept. 5 to 13,842 for the week ending Sept. 12.

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Idaho’s Weekly Unemployment Initial Claims Rise 3 Percent over Previous Week

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Sept. 10, 2020
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Salvador Vazquez, Salvador.Vazquez@labor.idaho.gov

New initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits totaled 3,804 for the week ending Sept. 5, increasing 3 percent – or 118 claims – from the previous week.

The four-week moving average increased by 4 percent to 3,732 new initial claims per week.
Continued claims – the number of people who requested a benefit payment – dropped by 10 percent from the previous week to 13,021, the 18th consecutive week of declines. The four-week moving average for continued claims also fell 10 percent – from 17,468 for the week ending Aug. 29 to 15,658 for the week ending Sept. 5.

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Department of Labor Names New Economist for South Central Idaho

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Sept. 8, 2020
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov

The Idaho Department of Labor has hired Bonang Seoela as its new labor economist for Idaho’s south central region, which includes Blaine, Camas, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka and Twin Falls counties. He will also cover Bingham and Power counties in the southeastern region.

Seoela holds a master’s degree in economics from Boise State University and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the College of Idaho.

While a research assistant at Boise State, Seoela received the College of Business and Economics’ Signature Student award and a Vice President of University Advancement award. As part of his undergraduate work, Seoela studied in China for six months. He speaks five languages.

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Around Idaho: Economic Activity in August 2020

Information provided in these news updates is from professional sources, news releases, weekly and daily newspapers, television and other media.

Northern Idaho
North Central Idaho
Southwestern Idaho
South Central Idaho
Southeastern Idaho
Eastern Idaho

 

NORTHERN IDAHO – Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai & Shoshone Counties

Bonner County

  • Tamarack Aerospace Group, which successfully emerged from bankruptcy this year, is expanding its operations by adding a hanger and additional office space in Sandpoint, as well as a new facility in the United Kingdom. The new hanger space will be used for the installation of Tamarack’s fuel-efficiency boosting jet winglets. Source: Journal of Business

Kootenai County

  • Construction is underway on a new five-story, 62-unit apartment complex in Coeur d’Alene’s Riverstone development. Completion is anticipated for fall, 2021. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Coeur d’Alene City Council voted to demolish two abandoned hotels in the city. The hotels were acquired by the city in a land swap with the local charity organization St. Vincent de Paul. A new use has not been confirmed for the land currently occupied by the hotels, but public parking and a pocket park have been suggested by the city’s planning officials. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • Public schools in Coeur d’Alene have pushed back the start of school to Sept. 14 and will begin with a blended learning approach that combines online learning with classroom time. Students will attend school in person on alternate days (determined alphabetically by last name) to halve classroom size on any given day. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Openings – Coeur d’Alene

  • LunchboxWax
  • Spice & Tea Exchange Tea Bar
  • CAL Cars
  • Good Time Tap Room
  • Vapor Lounge
  • Engel & Volkers Luxury Real Estate
  • Sweet Treats Frozen Yogurt

Openings – Post Falls

  • Select K9 Resort
  • SWEET Pea Imagery
  • Bluegrass Baby Boutique
  • India House

Openings – Hayden

  • Voltage Studios

Sam.Wolkenhauer@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
(208) 457-8789 ext. 4451

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Idaho’s Weekly Unemployment Initial Claims Fall 3 Percent from Previous Week

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Sept. 3, 2020
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Salvador Vazquez, Salvador.Vazquez@labor.idaho.gov

New initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits totaled 3,686 for the week ending Aug. 29, decreasing 3 percent – or 108 claims – from the previous week.

The four-week moving average increased by 1 percent to 3,594 new initial claims per week.

Continued claims – the number of people who requested a benefit payment – dropped by 12 percent from the previous week to 14,423, the 17th consecutive week of declines. The four-week moving average for continued claims fell 14 percent – from 20,205 for the week ending Aug. 22 to 17,468 for the week ending Aug. 29.

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Serve Idaho Announces $50,000 in Funding for Planning Grant

Idaho nonprofit, educational, community and faith-based organizations, Indian tribes and local governments are eligible to apply for federal funding through Serve Idaho, the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism. The $50,000 will be awarded to one organization to fund a planning grant on the feasibility of operating an AmeriCorps program.

Interested organizations have until Sept. 17 to submit an application.

A notice of intent to apply for a grant must be filed by 4:30 p.m. MDT Sept. 8. The intent to apply can be found at serveidaho.gov/grantsFunding.  A mandatory technical assistance call will be held Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. MDT.

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Idaho’s Weekly Unemployment Initial Claims Increase 4 Percent from Previous Week

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Aug. 27, 2020
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Salvador Vazquez, Salvador.Vazquez@labor.idaho.gov

New initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits totaled 3,794 for the week ending Aug. 22, increasing 4 percent – or 150 claims – from the previous week.

The four-week moving average decreased by 6 percent to 3,574 new initial claims per week.

Continued claims – the number of people who requested a benefit payment – dropped by 13 percent from the previous week to 16,414, the 16th consecutive week of declines. The four-week moving average for continued claims fell 11 percent – from 22,712 for the week ending Aug. 15 to 20,205 for the week ending Aug. 22.

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Supplementary Economic Indicators Offer Insight During COVID

In economics, it can often seem that nothing happens for years at a time, only for years’ worth of change to happen all at once. The economy, in other words, can seem stable – or even boring – until suddenly it is not. In Idaho, for example, the changes in total nonfarm employment in April, May and June 2020 exceeded (in absolute terms) all the changes that occurred from 2015 to the end of 2019. Owing to the pandemic shock of COVID-19, three months saw more volatility in Idaho’s labor market than the preceding four years.

When economic events gain velocity, especially in the face of a serious recession, a variety of labor market indicators take on new importance, especially those updated monthly or even weekly, rather than quarterly or annually. Several labor market indicators can add to a real time understanding of economic conditions as a supplement to the Department of Labor’s headline statistics like unemployment rates and nonfarm employment numbers.

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Idaho Unemployment Falls to 5 Percent in July

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Aug. 21, 2020
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, craig.shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Karen Jarboe Singletary, karen.jarboesingletary@labor.idaho.gov

Nonfarm Jobs Recover 1.9 Percent

Idaho’s nonfarm payrolls regained 14,000 jobs, and the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5 percent as the state’s economy continued to reopen.

July’s unemployment rate dropped 0.8 percentage points from a revised rate of 5.8 percent in June and down from April’s historic high of 11.8 percent. Previous peak unemployment rates include 10.2 percent for December 1982 and 9.6 percent for June 2016 – the Great Recession peak.

The number of unemployed Idahoans fell by 6,917 to 44,722 as total employment recovered by 12,843 to 856,251, up 1.5 percent from June.

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