Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped another two-tenths of a percentage point in July, falling to a three-year low of 7.5 percent.
Rhode Island was the only other state to post a decline in the unemployment rate from June to July.
Idaho public schools and colleges issued normal summer layoff notices while private employers maintained payrolls slightly higher than average for the past five years. That resulted in a decline in nonfarm jobs from June to July of only about half the seasonal average of 3,200. Tracking the seasonal jobs decline, the statewide labor force saw a decrease for the second straight month from the record 782-thousand in May.
The national jobless rate rose a tenth of a point in July to 8.3 percent, creating the largest gap between the state and national rates since May 2009. Despite employment slipping slightly, there were still over 19,000 more Idahoans at work in July than a year earlier.
Regionally, Nez Perce County reported 6.1 percent unemployment for July; Clearwater County, 13.6 percent; Idaho County, 9.7 percent; Latah County, 6.5 percent, and Lewis County, 6.9 percent. Of Idaho’s 11 largest cities, Lewiston tied with Meridian for the lowest unemployment rate at 6 percent. (Idaho Department of Labor)
