Emilie Ritter Saunders / StateImpact Idaho
Daffodils in full bloom on the Boise State University campus.
Here’s a look back at the five stories that have been read, shared and commented on the most. In case you missed one, we put them all in one spot.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
An unemployed financial engineer peddled for a job on the street in New York City.
Joblessness has long-lasting effects. It’s a troubling fact, and one that has received particular attention in this downturn, during which the average length of unemployment has surpassed all earlier records.
Here at StateImpact Idaho, we’ve touched on the effects of unemployment on long-term earnings prospects through our Jobless in Idaho reporting. Continue Reading
Mingerspice / Flickr
The Idaho Dairymen's Association says there are 569 dairies operating in the Gem State.
For the first time in almost two years, Idaho dairymen are eligible for a federal subsidy that compensates them when milk prices fall substantially below the costs of production.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week it has reinstated payments to dairymen under the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program. It’s the first time the USDA has approved such payments since April 2010.
Farm Service Agency Administrator Bruce Nelson said producers are eligible for almost $0.39 per hundredweight (cwt) of milk. “Dairy producers are affected by the market price for milk and the price of feed to sustain their herds,” said Nelson, in a press release this week. Continue Reading
Nemanja Glumac / Getty Images
The tax cut goes into effect as soon as the bill is signed.
Idaho corporations and top individual taxpayers will pay less to the state next year.
A plan to lower the top tax rates passed the Senate this afternoon. It’s final stop will be a signature by Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter.
As soon as Otter signs the bill, which he is expected to, the new tax rates take effect. The rates are also retroactive, which means the lower rates will be effective as of Jan. 1, 2012.
The individual rate will be lowered from 7.8 percent to 7.4 percent, the corporate tax rate from 7.6 percent to 7.4 percent.
The Associated Press has reported a family of four in the top tax bracket, with a gross income of $100,000 will see their annual tax bill go down by $71. The Division of Financial Management says that will affect about 17 percent of Idaho taxpayers.
House Bill 563 passed the Senate along party lines, 28-7.
Courtesy of Hecla Mining
Lucky Friday Mine workers in Mullan, Idaho are valued for their skill at "jackleg" mining, using hand-held equipment seen here.
Work hasn’t been hard to find for laid-off miners in the Coeur d’Alene area. The Northwest News Network reports about 250 miners and contractors were laid-off at the end of 2011 when the Lucky Friday Mine was shut down over safety concerns.
Since November 2011 Kootenai County’s jobless rate has declined more than two percentage points. February 2012 estimates show the county’s rate is just above the state average at 8.1 percent.
“The price of gold and silver right now makes experienced miners a hot commodity. Idaho labor officials say some Lucky Friday Mine workers have been temporarily recruited to California, Nevada, Montana, Alaska — and even the sunnier climes of Guatemala. In many cases, their families remain in Idaho to wait out the year-long closure of the Lucky Friday.” – Northwest News Network
You can read the full story here.
Brookings Institution
Click on the image above to see the full Brookings Institution report.
Boise is among the U.S. cities showing the strongest signs of economic recovery, as we reported yesterday.
But that assessment comes with a big qualification: in the short-term, the Boise economy looks strong. Its gross metropolitan product — that is, the market value of goods and services produced in the city — grew at a faster rate than the national average in the final quarter of last year.
Boise’s housing prices were up 3.1 percent in the same period, a rate of improvement that only Phoenix surpassed. Continue Reading
Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce
A Brookings Instituion report calls Boise one of the "strongest 20 metros" in terms of its economic recovery.
Boise’s economy got a vote of confidence today, in the form of a report from the Brookings Institution. It puts Boise among the top 20 metro areas in the country, in terms of recession and recovery, considering measures such as job growth and housing market improvement.
Brookings researcher Kenan Fikri says growth in the city’s manufacturing and high tech sectors late last year boosted Boise’s economy. That, in turn, bolstered the local housing market. While that is definitely good news, it does come with a caveat.
“The Boise economy looks very good over the short-term, looking back about one year, but it doesn’t look so good over the long term,” Fikri says. “To understand Boise’s recovery you really need to look over the cycle, from peak before the recession to the present.” Continue Reading
Bureau of Economic Analysis / U.S. Department of Commerce
Click on the image above to see the full report.
Idaho posted above average personal income growth from 2010 to 2011, thanks largely to increases in farm earnings. Other top industries, in terms of earnings growth, included health care and professional services. The construction industry had the most notable earnings losses.
Idaho’s personal income grew 5.4 percent from 2010 to 2011. That’s higher than the national average of 5.1 percent, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis report issued today.
Per capita personal income growth was not as substantial, rising from $31,897 in 2010 to $33,326 last year. That 4.5 percent increase put Idaho slightly ahead of the national rate of 4.3 percent.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images News
In cities like Boise and Las Vegas, the housing market turned down so sharply that houses were left half-finished.
Anyone anxious for a housing market turnaround got a bit of dreary news today, in the form of the most recent Case-Shiller Index report. It found that home values fell 3.8 percent nationally between January 2011 and January of this year, a greater decrease than expected.
In the West, though, there has been a trickle of good news lately. The Wall Street Journal recently singled out Phoenix for its strides toward recovery. Last week’s new home sales numbers showed the nation’s housing market to be “wobbly,” as the Los Angeles Times put it, but in the West, new home sales were up 8 percent. Continue Reading
Micron Technology, Inc.
By all accounts, today’s explosions at Micron Technology’s Boise campus were relatively minor.Â
Boise State Public Radio reports seven people were treated for minor injuries after two blasts occurred in an underground utility room this morning.
The Idaho Statesman reports about 200 people were briefly evacuated from a section of Micron’s headquarters.
“[T]he Boise Fire Department’s hazardous materials team determined that no hazardous chemicals were released by the explosion. Employees in the building have been allowed to return to work.
One person suffered a minor cut to the arm, two people had ringing in their ears and another inhaled dust from the explosion. Several others workers who inhaled dust were being evaluated. No one was transported to the hospital.” – IdahoStatesman.com
Micron tells Ada County emergency responders overall facility operations were not affected.
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