Idaho unemployment rose to 2.9 percent in October, the first increase in eight years after a long run of consistent drops; September’s jobless rate was the lowest since 1976. The Idaho Department of Labor attributed October’s increase to a surge in the number of Idahoans 16 and older looking for work; the month saw 4,850 people added to the labor force, one of the largest monthly increases on record. As a result, despite the notch up in the jobless rate, total employment in the state grew.

Idaho job numbers have been growing steadily since hitting a low during the recession in January of 2010.

Nationally, unemployment dropped slightly in October to 4.1 percent.