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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October 28, 2011

This Week’s Essential StateImpact Idaho

Take another look at the five stories that got the most clicks this week (it sure got Mugsy-the-dog’s attention)… In the Wake of Foreclosure, a Debt That Won’t Die: Ben and Lori Jensen thought after they lost their home to foreclosure the ordeal would be over, instead they were sued for the remainder of their home […]

October 27, 2011

Hunger, Food Assistance, and a StateImpact Idaho Endeavor

StateImpact Idaho is in the early stages of creating a series about unemployment and underemployment in the state. More specifically, we want to find Idahoans who are willing to talk with us every month or so about how they’re coping through economic circumstances that are uncertain, at best. In the course of making calls to prepare for […]

GDP: Three Little Letters, One Big Meaning

Gross Domestic Product is one of the measures used to define an economic recession or recovery. But what is GDP? Planet Money’s Adam Davidson goes to the grocery store with economist Simon Johnson to find out the answer. This is the first of a series of videos Planet Money is doing with Slate.

October 26, 2011

Idaho Forest Group Buys Lewiston Sawmill

Coeur d’Alene-based Idaho Forest Group is purchasing the Clearwater Paper sawmill in Lewiston for $30 million. The Lewiston Tribune has been reporting on the sale throughout the day. The Tribune reports the sale includes Clearwater Paper’s sawmill, planer mill, dry kilns and finished inventories. “Speculation about the deal had been circulating for more than two […]

October 21, 2011

Mapping Idaho’s Unemployment Rate, County-by-County

Idaho’s unemployment rate ticked down two-tenths of a percent in September, slipping below the national rate for the first time in nearly a year. The state’s seasonally adjusted rate is at 9.0 percent, nationally it’s at 9.1 percent. Idaho Department of Labor spokesman Bob Fick says many sectors are performing better, or about the same, […]

Q & A: Boise State University Economics Professor Don Holley on Recession vs. Recovery

Q: What is a recession? A: When you talk about a business cycle, you have a downturn and an upturn. The downturn is the recession and the upturn is the recovery. Once you hit the bottom and start to come up, you’re in recovery, but you certainly haven’t gotten back to where you were before. […]

October 20, 2011

The Three R’s: Recession, Recovery, Relevance

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 […]

October 19, 2011

What’s in a Word? How Idaho Economists View the Recovery

We’re on a mission to find out from economists, business owners, workers and everyone in between what the words Recession and Recovery mean in Idaho. Here’s what three economists had to say. “It’s almost like economists who are focusing on this narrow view of what constitutes a recession have almost made themselves irrelevant. Most people […]

October 6, 2011

Governor Otter Pushes for a More Aggressive “Buy Idaho”

Buy Idaho launched in 1986, with support from then newly elected Lieutenant Governor Butch Otter, as a way to market Idaho-made products. The member driven marketing cooperative celebrated its 25th anniversary this week. Governor Otter calls the 1,100 member Buy Idaho effort a “great success”. Still, he told attendees at Buy Idaho’s annual conference the […]

October 5, 2011

Economic Disparity and Unemployment Top Concerns at “Occupy Boise” Rally

As many as 300 people showed up at the state capitol today for a protest march called Occupy Boise. The event was one of many across the country inspired by ongoing protests on Wall Street. Most demonstrators in Boise said they’re concerned about the economy and the distribution of wealth in the U.S. Here is […]