Tracking Idaho's Unemployment Rate

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Do you remember Idaho’s unemployment rate just as the recession was being noticed? It was three percent.

The National Bureau of Economic Research said the great recession started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.

Since those declarations, Idaho’s unemployment rate climbed to its peak of 8.8 percent in August 2010. By August 2011 it had dropped to 8.4 percent, and by August 2012 it was down to 7 percent.

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December 7, 2011

Six Months In, Evaluating The Effects Of A Medicaid Cut

It’s relatively simple to describe the Medicaid cut approved by the Idaho Legislature early this year. State leaders made about $35 million in targeted cuts. That meant fewer federal matching dollars, and a total funding loss of nearly $100 million to the state’s Medicaid program. The economic and personal reverberations are more difficult to tally, […]

December 6, 2011

Idaho’s Rising Medicaid Enrollment Drives Costs

Bruce Vladeck, who directed the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs for four years in the 1990s, summed up the Medicaid program this way. “Medicaid isn’t rocket science,” he said. “It’s harder and more expensive.” Years later, a poster echoing those words hangs in Idaho Medicaid Administrator Paul Leary’s office. It’s true that in the world […]

December 1, 2011

Idaho’s Growing Food Stamp Enrollment: Greater Need or Broader Eligibility?

In response to our recent story about Idaho’s growing food stamp rolls, IdahoReporter.com sent this 2010 article about the suspension of the state’s asset test for food stamp eligibility. Like many other states, Idaho lifted the asset test in 2009. Previously, families could not qualify for assistance if they held more than $2,000 in assets, […]

Jobless In Idaho: Single Mom Budgets to Keep Family Afloat

“I think when I didn’t have enough money for food is when it really started to hit me.”

November 30, 2011

Nearly 100,000 Idahoans Underemployed in 2010

New data from the Idaho Department of Labor confirms what many people have suspected. The number of people who are underemployed continues to grow. In 2010, 14.2 percent of the workforce was underemployed, compared with 12.7 percent back in 2009. Statistics show most of the underemployed worked part-time or temporary jobs when they wanted and […]

Idaho’s Food Stamp Rolls Nearly Triple in Four Years

Two families from Nampa were featured in an NBC piece this week about the high demand for food assistance and the rush to purchase food on the first of the month, when money is deposited into recipients’ accounts. What the piece doesn’t detail is the number of Idahoans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program […]

November 18, 2011

Idaho’s Unemployment Rate Moves in a Positive Direction

Idaho’s unemployment rate last month ticked down to its lowest level in nearly two years. The Idaho Department of Labor reports the seasonally adjusted rate dropped two-tenths of a percent to 8.8. The national unemployment rate for October was 9.0 percent. There are still at least 66,400 Idahoans without jobs, that’s down from 73,600 a […]

November 17, 2011

The Future of Idaho’s Unemployment Benefits Uncertain

Idaho’s Department of Labor Director, with support of the Governor, is urging Congress to let federal unemployment benefits expire on December 31. That news broke at the beginning of November. Now, new estimates released this week by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office suggest increasing benefits for the unemployed could be the best policy for short-term […]

Jobless In Idaho: Tech Worker Unemployed For Years

“You have to realize that work doesn’t define who you are as a person.”

November 16, 2011

Understanding Federal Unemployment Insurance Benefits

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 […]