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Waiting For Recovery: Idaho's Economy In 4 Charts

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Background

This page is no longer being updated. For ongoing coverage of this topic, go to Boise State Public Radio’s website.

Much like the nation, Idaho’s post-recession recovery has been slow and bumpy.

In areas like the housing market, Idaho has shown repeated positive signs since StateImpact started keeping track in 2011.  Idaho’s hardest-hit sector, construction, is also making a steady, albeit slow, comeback.

As this chart shows, Idaho’s unemployment rate is also continuing its trend downward.

However, Idaho still isn’t seeing a positive change in three areas.

Median income hasn’t rebounded…

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Idaho’s poverty rate continues to increase…

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

And more people are using food stamps than ever before…

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Latest Posts

March 14, 2013

Is Idaho Winning A Race To The Economic Bottom? That Depends On Who You Ask

Many of Idaho’s monthly and quarterly economic indicators are good. The state’s unemployment rate has dropped steadily, tax collections are on-par with forecasts, gross state product is growing, and so are incomes. But economist Mike Ferguson says it’s not that simple. To get a true sense of where Idaho stands economically, Ferguson says, it’s important […]

March 5, 2013

Why Urban Renewal Faces Resistance In Idaho

Urban renewal districts allow communities to leverage property tax dollars to support local economic development. There are more than 60 of them in Idaho. But this legislative session has brought fresh signs that, in some corners, urban renewal isn’t exactly popular – even as it supports the state’s most touted new company.  

March 1, 2013

Revised Data Show Idaho Didn’t Create Many Jobs In 2012

Data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show Idaho’s 2012 jobless rate was lower than expected. The average annual rate was revised down three-tenths of a percent to 7.1. That’s a significant decline from 2011’s average rate of 8.3 percent. The revised data show the number of jobless Idahoans dropped below 50,000 […]

February 28, 2013

Idaho Labor Department Braces For $3.5 Million Funding Cut

The state agency that handles unemployment insurance benefits, workforce training and helps jobless Idahoans search for work, anticipates a $3.5 million budget cut beginning at the stroke of midnight. It’s the sequester, the $85 billion in automatic, across-the-board federal spending cuts that have the potential to affect nearly every aspect of government services. The Idaho […]

February 27, 2013

Idaho Leads The Nation In Minimum Wage Workers

More Idaho workers earned minimum wage in 2012 than in any year since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping track a decade ago. The Idaho Department of Labor reports 7.7 percent of Idaho hourly workers earned $7.25 an hour or less last year. That’s up from 5 percent in 2011. The new data […]

February 25, 2013

Idaho’s Economy Grew Slightly In 2011, Rural Idaho Marks Decline

Idaho’s gross state product grew by less than 1 percent in 2011, according to the Idaho Department of Labor and Bureau of Economic Analysis. Gross state product is the total value of all goods and services produced within a state. At the national level, gross domestic product, is used as an economic indicator to gauge […]

February 14, 2013

How Investor-Buyers Shaped One Boise Housing Development Hit Hard In The Downturn

It’s clear that residential real estate investors played a role in the boom and bust in Idaho’s housing market. Realtors tell stories of receiving call after call from out-of-state speculators attracted by Idaho’s high growth rate and low cost of housing. Yesterday, we reported on a southwest Boise subdivision called Charter Pointe that’s still reeling […]

January 30, 2013

New Report Shows Many Idahoans Don’t Have Adequate Savings

Two in five Idahoans who are “liquid asset poor” wouldn’t be able to pay their bills if they lost their job. The Idaho Statesman reports on a study out today that takes a closer look at Americans’ finances. A report released today by the Corporation for Enterprise Development says 44 percent of Idahoans are on […]

January 17, 2013

Idaho’s Foreclosure Rate Continues To Fall

2012 was a good year, comparatively, for Idaho’s housing market. RealtyTrac’s year-end foreclosure report was released this morning, and it shows Idaho’s foreclosure rate and rank among states continue to drop. The Gem State now ranks 14th, bumping Idaho out of the top 10 in the annual ranking for the first time in years. 

December 21, 2012

Idaho’s Jobless Rate Drops Two-Tenths Of A Percent As The Labor Force Shrinks

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 7 percent to 6.8 percent in November. That’s the lowest Idaho’s jobless rate has been in three and a half years. The Idaho Department of Labor says most Idaho counties, 36 of 44, posted jobless rate declines from October to November. Total employment was up last month, with […]

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