Idaho unemployment holds steady

December 18, 2016

Idaho's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held at 3.8 percent in November – the same rate reported since July. Employment increased by 1,500 to 783,800, absorbing an additional 1,200 people who joined the state’s labor force and reducing the number of unemployed Idahoans by 300 to 30,600. Month-to-month, Idaho’s total nonfarm payroll jobs grew by 3,700 to 700,200 – exceeding 700,000 for the first time in the series history. Gains in natural resources, manufacturing, trade and transportation, information, financial activities, professional and business services, government and other services exceeded the number of jobs shed in construction, education and health, and leisure and hospitality. Year-over-year, Idaho’s total nonfarm job growth for November showed a net gain of 16,300, or 2.4 percent, with all sectors except natural resources showing gains. Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped by three-tenths of a point to 4.6 percent. Idaho’s labor force participation rate remained steady at 64 percent while nationally, the rate dropped slightly to 62.7 percent. According to the Conference Board, a Washington, D.C., think tank, there were about 22,700 online postings for Idaho jobs in November. Of those, 4,600 were classified by department analysts as hard-to-fill. Health care jobs accounted for 29 percent and included physicians, surgeons, psychiatrists, occupational and physical therapists, and support positions. By volume, registered nurses and truck drivers maintained the first and second spots for the largest number of hard-to-fill jobs. Annually, Idaho’s unemployment benefit payouts were up 3.9 percent - from $1.8 million a year ago to $1.9 million for November 2016. The number of weeks compensated remained relatively flat with a slight uptick of 0.82 percent over the year. Twenty-three of Idaho’s 44 counties had unemployment rates above the state rate. Madison County continued to experience the lowest unemployment rate at 2.4 percent. Six counties experienced rates above six percent: Clearwater (8.0 percent), Shoshone (7.2 percent), Adams (6.7 percent), Benewah (6.6 percent), Lewis (6.3 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 4.8 percent in the previous November. Details on Idaho’s unemployment picture can be found at lmi.Idaho.gov.