By Reader Staff
Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has remained both low and consistent, with the Idaho Department of Labor reporting that the May unemployment figure came in at 3.3%, which has not changed since September 2023.
Meanwhile, the state logged the largest percentage increase in nonfarm jobs in the nation in May, adding 7,600 such jobs, or 0.9%, for a total of 871,000.
Overall, Idaho’s labor force grew by 1,679 people (0.2%) to 975,713, while the labor force participation rate — the percentage of people 16 years of age or older who are either employed or looking for work — remained at 62.7% between April and May.
Industry sectors with the greatest over-the-month increases included arts, entertainment and recreation (10.4%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (3%); private educational services (2.9%); state government (1.5%); wholesale trade (1.4%); professional and business services (1.2%); durable goods manufacturing (0.9%); health care and social services (0.9%); real estate rental and leasing (0.9%); and construction (0.7%).
Natural resources, information and federal government sectors experienced job losses in May, declining 2.3%, 2.1% and 1.4%, respectively.
The Lewiston and Pocatello metro areas tied for the largest increase in nonfarm jobs at 1%, followed by Boise (0.9%) and Idaho Falls (0.7%). Twin Falls saw a decrease of 0.4% while Coeur d’Alene was unchanged.
Though the 3.3% unemployment rate has held steady since last September, it’s up from 2.9% in May 2023. However, the labor force grew 1.7% year-over-year, representing an increase of 16,258 people.
The Northern Region — which includes Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties — experienced 2.2% labor force growth from May 2023 to May 2024 but saw unemployment increase 14.3% during that time, resulting in an overall unemployment rate of 4.4%. The national unemployment rate is 4%.
Bonner County grew its labor force by 1.5% year-over-year in May, but its unemployment rate increased 9.2% during the year-long period for an overall rate of 4.8%. Benewah and Kootenai counties registered unemployment rates of 4.5% and 4.2%, respectively, while Boundary and Shoshone counties had jobless rates of 5.3% and 5.4%, respectively.
Learn more at lmi.idaho.gov.
