Monthly Archives: August 2020

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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Idaho’s Weekly Unemployment Initial Claims Increase 12 Percent from Previous Week

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Aug. 20, 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 3,644 for the week ending Aug. 15, increasing 12 percent – or 394 claims – from the previous week.

The four-week moving average decreased by 12 percent to 3,801 new initial claims per week – the fourth consecutive week of declines.

Continued claims – the number of people who requested a benefit payment – dropped by 7 percent from the previous week to 18,772, the 15th consecutive week of declines. The four-week moving average for continued claims fell 9 percent – from 24,925 for the week ending Aug. 8 to 22,712 for the week ending Aug. 15.

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Idaho’s Weekly Unemployment Initial Claims Decrease 10 Percent from Previous Week

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Aug. 13, 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 3,250 for the week ending Aug. 8, decreasing 10 percent – or 357 claims – from the previous week.

The four-week moving average fell 11 percent to 4,312 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 20,263, the 14th consecutive week of declines. The four-week moving average for continued claims fell 8 percent – from 27,051 for the week ending Aug. 1 to 24,925 for the week ending Aug. 8.

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Idaho’s Weekly Unemployment Initial Claims Decrease 23 Percent from Previous Week

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Aug. 6, 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 3,607 for the week ending Aug. 1, decreasing 23 percent – or 1,096 claims – from the previous week.

The four-week moving average fell 6 percent to 4,864 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 25,369, the 13th consecutive week of declines. The four-week moving average for continued claims fell 3 percent – from 27,981 for the week ending July 25 to 27,051 for the week ending Aug. 1.

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Idaho Receives More than $1.5 Million in Funding for AmeriCorps Programs

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Aug. 3 2020
Media Contact: Renee Bade, Renee.Bade@labor.idaho.gov

Serve Idaho, the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism has received a $1,508,524 grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to fund AmeriCorps programs in 2020-2021. The grants will support the service of 224 AmeriCorps members statewide. AmeriCorps members give a year of intensive service, on a full-time or part-time basis.

Grants have been awarded to:

Idaho State University – Idaho Healthcare for Children and Families AmeriCorps Program
$542,777 to fund 94 AmeriCorps members who will address health needs of Idaho’s low-income children and families in rural underserved areas of Idaho by providing health screenings and education.

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