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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May 11, 2012

Refugees In Idaho: A Look At The Numbers

Source: Idaho Office for Refugees This week, StateImpact Idaho has been reporting on a little-known program called the International Organization for Migration U.S. Refugee Travel Loan Program. It’s a federally-funded program that provides loans to refugees, allowing them travel to the United States. Yesterday’s story described the bind some refugees and refugee families find themselves […]

May 10, 2012

Five Percent Of Idaho’s Workforce Earned Minimum Wage In 2011

The Idaho Department of Labor’s latest monthly newsletter describes how the state’s proportion of minimum wage jobs has shifted over the course of the recession. A greater share of Idaho’s workforce is earning minimum wage now than in 2007, the height of the economic boom. Nearly 19,000 Idaho workers earned minimum wage last year, that’s […]

Travel Loans Jeopardize Success For Idaho Refugees

The weak economy has exposed shortcomings in a little-known program of the U.S. State Department. Each year, tens of thousands of refugees arrive in the U.S. Most take out federally-funded loans to cover the cost of travel. But in this economy that has left so many without work, refugee advocates and refugees themselves say the […]

May 9, 2012

Refugee Travel Loans: What They Are, And Why You Should Care

Tomorrow, we’ll air a broadcast story on a program you’ve probably never heard of. It’s called the International Organization for Migration U.S. Refugee Travel Loan Program. What is it? In short, it covers the cost of transportation for nearly all refugees resettled in the United States. (For this year, that could be as many as […]

April 30, 2012

Jobless In Idaho: Ten Weeks To Find Work

Idaho’s economic picture has begun to brighten, but the state has yet to make up the jobs it lost in the downturn. Many in Idaho have watched their months of unemployment add up. Single mom Kelly Barker is one of them. She just reached an anniversary she’d rather not observe. It has now been a […]

April 20, 2012

Idaho’s Unemployment Rate Falls, But National Focus Is On Fragility

Thirty states including Idaho saw their unemployment rates fall in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Idaho’s rate dipped below 8 percent for the first time in more than two years, landing at 7.9 percent. Furthermore, just three states still have unemployment rates in the double digits, a striking improvement from two years […]

Idaho’s Jobless Rate Dips Below 8 Percent

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March dropped below 8 percent to 7.9 percent. The Idaho Department of Labor reports that’s the first time the state’s jobless rate has dipped below 8 percent in more than two years. Still, almost 62,000 Idahoans are out of work. The data show Idaho’s jobless rate has been on the […]

April 19, 2012

For Job Growth, Don’t Look To Small Business

The going home bill for the Idaho Legislature this year was a measure that cuts the state’s corporate tax rate and the income tax rate paid by the state’s top earners. The individual income tax cut at times was pitched as a way to help small businesses, since many pay taxes through an individual — […]

April 17, 2012

Labor Dept. Hopes Training Fund Expansion Could Spur Job Growth

More Idaho workers would be eligible for subsidized worker training under a proposal that will go before the state’s Workforce Development Council next month. The council will decide whether to allow employers to tap into the state’s Workforce Development Training Fund to train workers replacing existing employees. Currently, the fund can only be used if […]

April 16, 2012

Federal Grants Available To Help Idaho Teens Learn Job Skills

The Idaho Workforce Development Council is looking for businesses willing to provide basic job skills for low-income, at-risk high school students. The council has $1.1 million available for one-year grants. The money is from the federal Workforce Investment Act, and it must be matched by participating schools — either through cash or in-kind contributions like […]