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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July 17, 2012

Do Minimum Wage Requirements Add To Teen Unemployment?

A report by the conservative-leaning Idaho Freedom Foundation concludes Idaho teens have fewer job opportunities because the state’s minimum wage has increased by $2.10 since 2007. “There may well be multiple reasons why unemployment has risen so quickly among teens, but the one that cannot be overlooked is the rapid increase of the minimum wage. […]

July 11, 2012

Idaho Labor Department To Recover $6.8 Million In Jobless Benefit Overpayments

The Idaho Department of Labor says it has started to withhold federal unemployment insurance benefits from people who’ve been overpaid. Department spokesman Bob Fick says the agency had been collecting overpayments by withholding half of a jobless person’s weekly benefit payment, now the department is able to withhold the entire benefit.

June 15, 2012

Idaho’s May Jobless Rate Goes Up, Ends 9 Straight Months Of Decline

Mirroring the national jobless rate increase, Idaho’s unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point last month, ending a nine-month decline in the economic measure. Idaho’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate ticked up to 7.8 percent in May, from 7.7 percent in April. Idaho is among 18 states where the jobless rate went up in May, […]

June 12, 2012

Out-Of-Work Idaho Teens Could Be Out Of Luck

The Associated Press highlights the problem of teen unemployment in piece published today. StateImpact devoted significant time to the issue earlier this year, not long after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing Idaho has one of the highest teen unemployment rates in the nation. Idaho’s teen unemployment rate was nearly 30 percent in […]

May 31, 2012

Volatile Solar Industry Leads To Layoffs In Idaho

In the last two weeks, Idaho workers have gotten dismal news from two solar companies. First, Hoku Corporation said it would lay off 100 workers at its polysilicon plant in Pocatello. Polysilicon is used in solar panels. Then, on Tuesday, Transform Solar announced it will close, cutting 250 jobs.

May 30, 2012

Idaho’s Transform Solar Received $1 Million In State Training Grants

This story has been updated, you can read the updated version right here. A Nampa-based solar company partly owned by Micron Technology will close its doors and lay-off about 250 people over the next three months. Transform Solar was a joint venture between Boise-based Micron Technology and Australian energy company “Origin.” The company launched in […]

May 29, 2012

Are Summer Jobs A Thing Of The Past?

Memorial Day weekend means the unofficial start to summer. Teens across Idaho will soon graduate or head out on summer break. Some of those teens, undoubtedly, are looking for a summer job. The Employment Policies Institute took a closer look at U.S. Census Bureau data that shows the average teen jobless rate among states is […]

May 25, 2012

Stateline Charts Job Growth And Decline Post-Recession

Stateline, a news service from Pew Center on the States, recently posted this colorful look at jobs across all 50 states. According to Stateline, the U.S. has 4.8 million fewer jobs today than it did back in 2008. The interactive data chart shows Idaho lost the bulk of its jobs in 2009 and 2010. Click […]

May 18, 2012

Idaho’s Unemployment Rate Drops To 7.7 Percent

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped two-tenths of a percentage point in April, falling to 7.7 percent. The Idaho Department of Labor reports it is the ninth straight month of decline. April’s jobless rate marks the lowest the state has seen since July 2009. “While the labor force remained essentially unchanged at 779,000 in April, […]

May 14, 2012

Reporter’s Notebook: Understanding The Refugee Travel Loan Program

Some stories take a long time to report. StateImpact‘s recent piece on the refugee travel loan program is one example. I first spoke to Legal Aid attorney Zoe Ann Olson in February, not long after I reported a story about how Idaho’s economic downturn has affected refugee resettlement. Marcia Munden, the Catholic Charities social worker […]