Slightly higher than normal job increases in February were not enough to drop the state’s unemployment rate below record levels of the previous three months and left the seasonally adjusted February unemployment rate at 9.7 percent, unchanged from January and December. The addition of about 2,000 private sector jobs – primarily in business services, health care, private education, hotels and restaurants – did bring job totals up to February 2010 levels, the first time current-month jobs have equaled the year-earlier totals since March 2009. But February, at just over 587,000 jobs, was only a few hundred jobs higher than February 2010, the lowest February job total since 2004/Idaho Department of Labor. More here. And: Complete county-by-county figures here.

• Benewah County -- 15% (648 unemployed)
• Bonner County -- 13% (2622 unemployed)
• Boundary County -- 15.2% (713 unemployed)
• Kootenai County -- 10.8% (7722 unemployed)
• Shoshone County -- 14.4% (862 unemployed)

Question: What advice do you think our compassionate legislators from House Districts 2-5 would give to those suffering through double-digit unemployment in their North Idaho counties?