Idaho’s employment conditions have improved considerably in the past two years. Even the counties experiencing the most economic challenges are showing improvement. August was the first month since March 2008 that Idaho did not have any counties with double-digit unemployment rates. Eighteen of Idaho’s 44 counties experienced unemployment rates above 10 percent at some time between December 2007 and July 2014.
Idaho’s job growth is moving back to its pre-recession levels. January was the first month nonfarm payroll jobs in the United States exceeded pre-recession levels. This September, they were about 1. 1 percent – 1.38 million jobs – higher than in September 2007, three months before the recession began. In Idaho total nonfarm payroll jobs have not recovered completely. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 655,400 jobs this September, which was 1.7 percent lower – 11,500 jobs – than September 2007.