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State jobless rate falls for first time in four years
May 21, 2011
Idaho's economy generated more jobs than expected in April, putting over 3,000 people back to work and dropping the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for the first time in more than four years.

The rate fell a tenth of a point, from a record 9.7-percent in March to 9.6-percent. The unemployment rate for April, 2010, was 9.1-percent.

Just over 73,000 Idaho workers remained of the job in April, down 700 from March.

More people joined the Idaho work force in April and more found work than in any other month since January, 2006, a possible indication among jobless workers that the Idaho labor market is finally beginning to open up.

While the news was good statewide, Boundary County continues to languish, though the employment picture did improve somewhat since March. In April, there were 4,909 people working in Boundary County, with 698 people employed, compared to 4,742 workers to 678 unemployed in March, for a tenth of a point drop in the county unemployment rate, 14.2-percent in April compared to 14.3-in March.

Last April, the county unemployment rate stood at 14.8-percent.

Only three other Idaho counties have higher April unemployment rates; Valley County at 16.4-percent, Clearwater County with 15.3-percent unemployed and Adams County with 14.3-percent. Oneida County has the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 5.3-percent.

After 33-months of year-over-year declines, April was the fourth straight month that current job totals exceeded levels of a year earlier. Nearly 2,500 new workers entered the Idaho job force in April, pushing the total to a record 765,400, while more than 3,200 idled workers found jobs, driving total employment back over 690,000 for the first time since July, 2009. April was the second straight month that more people found work than entered the labor force.

While new hiring by Idaho's 50,000 employers remained weak compared to pre-recession levels, April marked the sixth month that new hires exceed totals from a year earlier.
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