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Idaho unemployment rate stays steady |
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October 26, 2016 |
Idaho's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate
held at 3.8 percent in September. Nationally,
the unemployment rate increased from 4.9 to 5
percent.
As the current business cycle's economic
expansion matures, Idaho continued to produce
large over-the-year job growth in September,
ranking third nationally. Total nonfarm jobs had
a net gain of 21,500, or 3.2 percent, with all
sectors except natural resources experiencing
over-the-year job growth.
Month-to-month, growth in the state's seasonally
adjusted nonfarm payrolls remained constant as
2,000 jobs were added between August and
September. Employers in the leisure and
hospitality sector led the way, retaining more
jobs than expected for this time of the year,
increasing 2.8 percent. Education and health
services, construction, government,
manufacturing and natural resources also
realized monthly gains. The remaining five
sectors – other services, trade, transportation
and utilities, financial activities, information
and professional and business services –
experienced job declines.
Idaho's labor force increased 1,100 to 813,400,
total employment grew by 1,000 to 782,294 and
the number of unemployed Idahoans rose by 150
people in September to 31,100.
For the fifth consecutive month, the state's
labor force participation rate remained
unchanged at 64.1 percent; nationally the rate
increased to 62.9 percent.
According to the Conference Board, a Washington,
D.C., think tank, there were nearly 24,800
online postings for Idaho jobs in September. Of
those, 4,850 were classified by department
analysts as hard-to-fill. Health care jobs
continued to account for more than 23 percent of
those and included physicians, surgeons,
psychiatrists and occupational and physical
therapists. By volume, registered nurses and
truck drivers maintained the first and second
spots for the largest number of hard-to-fill
jobs.
Annually, unemployment benefit payments were up
from September 2015 by 2.3 percent - from $1.16
million a year ago to $1.19 million for
September 2016. The number of weeks compensated
dropped 3.8 percent over the year.
Twenty-one of Idaho’s 44 counties had
unemployment rates above the state rate. Madison
County experienced the lowest unemployment rate
at 2.3 percent. Five counties experienced rates
above 6 percent: Clearwater (7.4 percent), Adams
(6.8 percent), Shoshone and Lewis (6.7 percent)
and Lemhi (6.1 percent).
The Idaho Falls metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
reported the lowest unemployment rate of all
MSAs at 3.2 percent, down from 3.3 percent one
year earlier. The Coeur d’Alene MSA experienced
the highest unemployment rate among the MSAs at
4.6 percent, down from 5 percent the previous
September.
In Boundary County, the September unemployment
rate was 4.6 percent, with 231 people listed as
unemployed, compared to 5 percent in September,
2015.
Details on Idaho’s unemployment picture can be
found at
lmi.Idaho.gov. |
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