Idaho’s poverty rate has increased 1.4 percent from 2009 to 2010. The U.S. Census Bureau released new poverty and income estimates for 2010 today. The data includes Idaho’s state poverty and income estimates, plus, rates on a county-by-county level and for each school district.
The annual estimates are based on a combination of data from the American Community Survey, federal tax information, records on food assistance participation, Census statistics and annual population estimates.
U.S. Census Bureau
Click on the image to see the interactive Census map
In 2009, the percentage of Idahoans living in poverty was 14.4. The 2010 estimate shows 15.8 percent of Idahoans are in poverty. The counties with the highest rates include Lemhi, Owyhee and Madison Counties. The percent of people living in poverty has steadily increased since 2008, the official start of the latest recession. That same measure of poverty back in 2007, before the recession, was 12.1 percent. Continue Reading →
Through a series of laws, the federal government has offered an additional safety net for workers who have been laid off. Extended unemployment benefit programs are in addition to individual state programs. In Idaho, someone who is laid off from their job — through no fault of their own — can qualify for up to 26 weeks of state unemployment insurance benefits. But because of the steep national unemployment rate, and the lack of jobs available, the federal government offers benefit extensions up to 73 weeks for jobless Idahoans. The maximum state and federal benefit in Idaho is 99 weeks. Continue Reading →
Idaho offers nine different tax credit programs for businesses. We’re highlighting the five most popular. The investment tax credit is used far more than any other credit-type incentive. In 2009, businesses collected more than $26 millionunder that credit alone, according to the Division of Financial Management.
Here’s a look at the other most frequently used business tax credits:
Research Activity Credit: Enacted in 2001, it’s a five percent credit for expenses related to research completed by a small business, university or federal government entity. The research must be done in Idaho to qualify.
Broadband Investment Credit: This is a three percent credit for purchases of qualified broadband equipment in Idaho. The credit is limited to no more than $750,000 per tax year, and no more than the taxpayer’s liability after all other credits in a single tax year. It can be sold to other taxpayers. It was enacted in 2001. Continue Reading →
Idaho’s economy, like the national economy, has technically been in recovery mode since June 2009. That’s when the latest recession ended. It lasted 18 months, from December 2007 until June 2009. The National Bureau of Economic Research is the group of independent economists that makes these declarations.
Here at StateImpact Idaho, we’re trying to find out if these declarations really mean anything. So we spoke with three local economists. Each agrees a recession is loosely defined as a prolonged downturn in the economy. It’s when gross domestic product doesn’t increase over a period of time and the production of goods and services stalls. Continue Reading →
Here’s a closer look at Idaho’s 2010 private sector gross state product, in millions of dollars.
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According to the Idaho Department of Labor, the value of all goods and services produced rebounded in 2010 by 3.3 percent. Losses were still recorded in the construction, real estate and management sectors.
25,149 babies were born in Idaho in 2008 at the height of the recession
A noticeable decline in the U.S. birthrate is linked closely to the economic recession starting in 2008. A new Pew Research Center report out this week says there were a record number of births in 2007, just as the economy slid into the recession, when 4,316,233 babies were born. Preliminary data for 2009 indicate the number of births dropped to the lowest number since 2004 at 4,131,018.
“A state-level look at fertility illustrates the strength of the correlation between lower birth rates and economic distress. States experiencing the largest economic declines in 2007 and 2008 were most likely to experience relatively large fertility declines from 2008 to 2009, the analysis finds. States with relatively minor economic declines were likely to experience relatively small declines.” – Pew Research Center
Luis Bettencourt working at one of his 11 dairies in southern Idaho
It’s hard to find optimism about the state of Idaho’s dairy industry among the very people who operate farms, milk cows, and try to make a living selling their product. The Idaho Dairymen’s Association reports there were 569 dairies in the state as of September 30th, 2011. That’s a significant drop from a few years ago when in 2008, 800 dairies were licensed to sell milk.
“I don’t think anyone would want to get into a losing business,” says Sharon Bettencourt. She and her husband Luis own one of the largest dairy operations in Idaho. They have 60,000 cows spread across 11 facilities. “At this point, we are trying to hang on to what we do have…there is no room for growth.”
While the number of dairies is on the decline in Idaho, the number of milk cows and the production of things like milk, cheese and cottage cheese are on the rise. According to a study from Boise State University’s College of Business & Economics which looked at the economic impacts of the dairy industry in Idaho, the number of dairy cows here is up more than 35-percent.
John Brown / Getty Images
In 2008 there were 550,333 dairy cows in Idaho
“The producer has to be better at making more milk,” says Jeff Ackerman who is the dairy operations manager at Bettencourt Dairies. “Production has grown because economics have gotten harder — we’re producing more milk out of the same number of cows, we have to, to squeak out any margins” says Ackerman. Continue Reading →
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