Monthly Archives: July 2020

Around Idaho: Economic Activity in July 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

Benewah County

  • The annual Paul Bunyan Days festival in St. Maries has been cancelled due to COVID-19. The four-day event is normally held around Labor Day to celebrate St. Maries’ logging community. This is the first time in the 51-year history of the festival that it has been cancelled. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press

Kootenai County

  • The Panhandle Health District approved a public mask mandate for Kootenai County. The mandate will make it a misdemeanor to be in public places without a mask in situations where social distancing is not possible. Source: Coeur d’Alene Press
  • StanCraft has expanded its development plans at the Coeur d’Alene Airport to include an additional hanger. The Hayden-based company has been building facilities for the retrofitting and customization of jet interiors, with two previously planned hangers expected to come online this fall and a new third hanger now planned for 2021. Source: Journal of Business
  • Fernan Lake has been placed under a public health advisory due to a toxic algae bloom. Residents and recreators have been advised to avoid contact with the water until the algae have subsided. Source: Spokesman Review

Openings

Coeur d’Alene

  • Fern Plant Shop
  • Carl’s Jr.
  • Coeur Vitality Integrative Medicine
  • Wine House CDA
  • Haberdashery

Post Falls

  • New York Pizza Dept

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

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Idaho’s Weekly Initial Claims Decrease 17 Percent from Previous Week

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: July 30, 2020
Media Contact: Salvador Vazquez, Salvador.Vazquez@labor.idaho.gov or Darlene Carnopis, darlene.carnopis@labor.idaho.gov

New initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits totaled 4,703 for the week ending July 25, decreasing 17 percent – or 984 claims – from the previous week.

The four-week moving average fell 3 percent to an average of 5,193 new initial claims per week.

Continued claims – the number of people who requested a benefit payment – dropped by 4 percent from the previous week to 26,445, the 12th consecutive week of declines. The four-week moving average for continued claims also fell 4 percent from 29,091 for the week ending July 18 to 27,981 for the week ending July 25.

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Labor Office Staff Available by Appointment to Help Job Seekers

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: July 24, 2020
Media Contact: Darlene Carnopis, darlene.carnopis@labor.idaho.gov

Job seekers can now schedule appointments to meet with a workforce consultant in a Labor local office for assistance with job training, resume writing and interview skills and other programs.

In addition, lobby computers can be reserved for 45 minutes to use for job searches or to file unemployment insurance (UI) claims. As a reminder, local office staff do not process or resolve UI claims and cannot help with UI questions. People who need assistance with their claims should call 1-833-410-1009.

To comply with Gov. Brad Little’s Stay Healthy Guidelines, offices will:

  • Use measures to ensure employees and customers maintain at least six-foot physical distancing.
  • Offer masks to customers. Staff will wear masks and we request customers wear them, as well.
  • Provide services while limiting close interactions.

Mobile location reopenings are not scheduled at this time, but all Labor services are available online and by phone. Job seekers can find their closest local office and contact information on the Labor website.

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COVID-19 Impacts Idaho’s Older Workers

The 416,000 Idahoans who are in their 50s and 60s face many challenges because of the coronavirus economic impact.

Loss of business income. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly reduced revenues of many Idaho businesses. It also is likely to lead to the permanent closure of some businesses, especially restaurants, entertainment operations, lodging and retail stores. Since older adults are more likely to run their own businesses, they are disproportionately impacted. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 24 percent of American workers 65 years and older are self-employed, while 15 percent of workers 55 to 64 years are self-employed. In comparison, 8 percent of workers under 55 are self-employed.

Joblessness. About 16 percent of Idaho’s 162,000 payroll workers 55 years and over filed new unemployment insurance claims between March 15 and June 13. Some returned to work within a month, but others experienced two or three months of joblessness.

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

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: July 23, 2020
Media Contact: Craig.Shaul, craig.shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Darlene Carnopis, darlene.carnopis@labor.idaho.gov

New initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits totaled 5,687 for the week ending July 18, increasing 4 percent – or 229 claims – from the previous week.

The four-week moving average rose 7 percent to an average of 5,372 new initial claims per week.

Continued claims – the number of people who requested a benefit payment – dropped by 4 percent from the previous week to 27,622, the 11th consecutive week of declines. The four-week moving average for continued claims also fell 5 percent from 30,451 for the week ending July 11 to 29,091 for the week ending July 18.

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Idaho Labor Clears Unemployment Pending Claims Backlog

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: July 22, 2020
Media Contact: Darlene Carnopis, darlene.carnopis@labor.idaho.gov

Record Number of Initial Claims Continues to be Filed

The Idaho Department of Labor has cleared the 42,000 unemployment insurance claims that had been pending as of June 6. Issues that remain now are more complicated – such as working to prevent identity theft – and await additional information from claimants or previous employers. 

Unemployment staff continue to work on processing the high volume of claims being filed. A higher percentage of new claims are being filed each week than ever before. Approximately 3,800 claims were filed each week on average in 2009 – the height of Great Recession. Currently, the four-week average is approximately 5,000 claims.  Continue reading →

Idaho Unemployment Falls to 5.6 Percent in June

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: July 17, 2020
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, craig.shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Karen Jarboe Singletary, karen.jarboesingletary@labor.idaho.gov

Nonfarm Jobs Recover 3.5 Percent

Idaho’s nonfarm payrolls regained 24,800 jobs and the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent as the state’s economy continued to reopen.

June’s unemployment rate dropped 3.4 percentage points from a revised rate of 9 percent in May and down from April’s historic high of 11.8 percent. Previous peak unemployment rates include 10.2 percent for December of 1982 and 9.6 percent for June of 2016 – the Great Recession peak.

The number of unemployed Idahoans fell by 28,961 to 50,267 as total employment recovered by 38,885 to 841,898, up 4.8 percent from May.

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$600 Federal Unemployment Benefit to End July 25

News Release

For Immediate Release: July 16, 2020
Media Contact: Georgia Smith, georgia.smith@labor.idaho.gov or Darlene Carnopis, darlene.carnopis@labor.idaho.gov

The extra $600 per week currently provided to Idaho unemployment insurance claimants through the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program ends July 25.

Under federal guidelines, the week ending July 25 is the final claim week for the FPUC program, however eligible claimants who are waiting on back pay will receive those payments after that date.

Other unemployment programs under the CARES Act will continue. Details on those programs and their deadlines can be found at labor.idaho.gov/Covid19. Continue reading →

Idaho’s Weekly Initial Claims Increase 11 Percent from Previous Week

News Release

For Immediate Release: July 16, 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 5,458 for the week ending July 11, increasing 11 percent – or 534 claims – from the previous week.

The four-week moving average rose 10 percent to an average of 5,021 new initial claims per week.

Continued claims – the number of people who requested a benefit payment – dropped by 6 percent from the previous week to 28,766, the 10th consecutive week of declines. The four-week moving average for continued claims also fell 6 percent from 32,450 for the week ending July 4 to 30,451 for the week ending July 11.

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Idaho’s Hispanic Population Growth Continues in 2019

News Release

For Immediate Release: July 14, 2020
Media Contact: Georgia Smith, georgia.smith@labor.idaho.gov or Kathryn Tacke, kathryn.tacke@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s Hispanic population grew faster than the state’s population in 2019, according to estimates recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The number of Hispanics in Idaho rose 3.3 percent from 222,206 in 2018 to 229,490 in 2019, while the total population grew 2.1 percent.

From 2010 to 2019, the state’s Hispanic population grew 30.5 percent, while its total population grew 14 percent.

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