Idaho’s Economy Recovering from COVID-19

Idaho was in its third longest period of economic expansion when COVID-19 reached the state and Gov. Brad Little proclaimed an emergency.

The economic shutdown that followed impacted the nation and Idaho full force in late March and in April as the state’s record low, 2.5 percent unemployment rate soared to a historic high of 11.8 percent.

After April’s COVID-19 economic shockwave, the economy gradually reopened from May through June as the Rebound Idaho Plan progressed through its four stages. Dramatic improvements to the state’s jobs and labor force statistics followed suit and by July had clearly emerged with one of the least affected economies by the pandemic in the nation.

Read the report on Idaho’s Rebound from Labor economists and analysts for more details on Idaho’s recovery since the record high unemployment in April.