Tag Archives: nonfarm jobs

Idaho’s December Unemployment Rate Reaches Historic Low of 2.4%

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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Jan. 21, 2022
Media Contact: Karen.JarboeSingletary@labor.idaho.gov or Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.4% in December, a historic low and one-tenth of a percentage point below the state’s previous record of 2.5% in December 2019.

The number of Idahoans employed or looking for work grew by 806 people (0.1%) to 909,467 – marking the smallest over-the-month labor force gain through the last five months of 2021.

Labor force participation decreased slightly from 62.3% to 62.2% in December. The state’s participation rate dropped below the previous historic low in June 2021 and has continued decreasing in the months since – an indication of a persistently tight labor market. Idaho’s peak participation rate reached 71.4% in September 1998.

Total employment grew by 2,522 to 887,379, up 0.3%, while total unemployment dropped by 1,716 (7.2%) to 22,088. According to The Conference Board’s Help Wanted Online there were 51,765 online job openings in Idaho in December – a ratio of 2.3 openings for every unemployed Idahoan.

Idaho’s nonfarm job growth exceeded seasonal expectations in December, up 2,000 jobs (0.3%) for a total of 790,500 jobs. Industry sectors with the greatest over-the-month gains include natural resources (4.9%); information (3.9%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (2.4%); durable goods manufacturing (1.6%); federal government (0.8%); professional and business services (0.5%); local government (0.4%); accommodation and food services (0.4%); and retail trade (0.3%). Continue reading →

Idaho Employment Growth Projected to Continue Through 2023

Idaho’s robust labor market is expected to continue in the short term, according to new projections from the Idaho Department of Labor. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Idaho demonstrated consistent labor market resilience, becoming one of the first states to recover its job losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, and ranking – along with Utah – far ahead of all other states in post-pandemic job growth.

This growth is expected to persist through 2023 as in-migration and a growing demand for services continue to support Idaho’s economic strength.

The department’s newest short term projections forecast roughly 34,000 new jobs to be added in the state through 2023 for a growth rate of 2.1% per year. While almost all Idaho industries are projected to see job gains, rapid growth is expected in industries tied to high in-migration levels, such as construction and sectors still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Construction is projected to add 3,000 new jobs for an annual growth rate of 2.7% as demand for new housing remains high. The fastest projected growth rate, however, is in leisure and hospitality, forecasted to grow at 3.7% annually. This sector, which includes hotels and restaurants, was slower to recover from COVID-19 and therefore has room to re-add jobs lost in 2020.

Short-term job growth in Idaho tableSource: Idaho Department of Labor

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Idaho’s October Unemployment Rate Drops to 2.8%

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Nov. 19, 2021
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Karen Jarboe Singletary, Karen.JarboeSingletary@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 2.8% in October, down 0.1 percentage points from September.

The state’s labor force grew by 1,470 (0.2%) people to 907,622 – the second largest over-the-month increase this year. The labor force participation rate remained at 62.4%.

Total employment grew by 2,270 to 882,543, up 0.3%, while total unemployment dropped 3.2% (-800) to 25,079.

Idaho’s nonfarm payroll jobs were 1,300 below seasonal expectations at 785,700 in October, down 0.2% from 787,000 in September. Industries with fewer jobs than expected included information (-3.8%); accommodation and food services (-2.5%); transportation, warehouse and utilities (-1.1%); federal government (-0.8%); professional and business services (-0.4%); retail trade (-0.2%); and financial activities (-0.2%). Continue reading →

Idaho’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 2.9% for August

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Sept. 17, 2021
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Karen Jarboe Singletary, Karen.JarboeSingletary@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by one-tenth of a percent from July to 2.9%.

August was the first time Idaho’s unemployment rate dropped below 3% since March of 2020. The state’s previous streak of unemployment rates under 3% lasted for 26 months – from February 2018 to March 2020.

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Idaho’s June Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 3%

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: July 16, 2021
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Salvador Vazquez, Salvador.Vazquez@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 3% from May to June.

Total employment grew to 875,305, up 0.1% (+1,152), while total unemployment dropped -0.8% (-221) to 27,103.

Idaho’s labor force grew by one-tenth of a percent to 902,408 (+931), marking three consecutive months of gains. The labor force participation rate decreased from 62.7% to 62.6%.

In June, Idaho’s nonfarm payroll jobs jumped to 789,700, up 0.8% (+6,200) from 783,500 in May. Industries with job gains that exceeded expectations included information (+6.9%), state government (+3.8%), natural resources (+2.6%), other services (+2%), accommodation and food services (+1.7%), construction (+1.4%), education and health services (+1.1%), finance and insurance (+1%), local government (+0.7%), professional and business services (+0.6%), wholesale trade (+0.3%), and durable goods manufacturing (+0.3%).

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Idaho’s May Unemployment Rate Drops to 3%

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: June 18, 2021
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Salvador Vazquez, Salvador.Vazquez@labor.idaho.gov

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 3.1% in April to 3% for May.

Total employment grew to 874,143, up 0.2% (+1,978), while total unemployment dropped 3% (-865) to 27,351.

May’s labor force and steady participation rate continued to benefit from population increases. Idaho’s labor force grew by one-tenth of a percent to 901,494, marking two consecutive months of gains. The labor force participation rate remained unchanged at 62.7%.

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Idaho’s January Unemployment Rate Down to 3.4%

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: March 15, 2021
Media Contacts: Craig Shaul, craig.shaul@labor.idaho.gov, or Karen Jarboe Singletary, karen.jarboesingletary@labor.idaho.gov

Total nonfarm jobs up 1.1% over last year 

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4% in January, down slightly from a revised 3.8% rate for December, and well below April 2020’s revised historic high of 11.6%.

Revisions made to Idaho’s 2020 unemployment rate are the result of an annual benchmarking process conducted each year by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Civilian Labor Force

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted labor force went virtually unchanged in January at 900,205, up 1.1% (+10,015) over its revised pre-pandemic level in March of 2020.

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Idaho’s Economy Leads Recovery from Coronavirus

As of October, Idaho has recovered faster than most other states from the sudden, enormous economic losses caused by the coronavirus shutdowns in March and April. Idaho’s long-term population and economic growth gives it strong upward economic momentum. In addition, the shutdowns in the state at that time did not as severely restrict economic activity as it did in many other states.

Despite Idaho’s relative success, it’s not back to normal, and 26,400 more Idahoans were unemployed in October than in February, according to seasonally adjusted labor force statistics from the Idaho Department of Labor. In the uncertain atmosphere caused by COVID-19 and a global economic slowdown, it’s likely that restoring all the jobs lost during the pandemic will take several months. Continue reading →

Idaho Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.5 Percent in October

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Nov. 20, 2020
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Karen Jarboe Singletary, karen.jarboesingletary@labor.idaho.gov

State regains 5,400 nonfarm jobs

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent and nonfarm payrolls regained 5,400 jobs in October as the state’s economy continued to recover.

The unemployment rate dropped six-tenths of a percentage point in October after increasing by almost 2 points in September to 6.1 percent. October’s rate was 6.3 percentage points below April’s historic high of 11.8 percent.

The number of unemployed Idahoans fell by 5,866 to 50,278 as total employment recovered by 1,021 to 863,917, up one-tenth of a percent from September.

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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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