Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Idaho unemployment drops to 3 percent, lowest since 2008

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's unemployment rate fell to 3 percent in July. The Idaho Department of Labor in a news release Friday says that's the lowest level for the state since mid-2008. The agency says nonfarm jobs grew by 4,300 with the trade, transportation and utilities sectors accounting for about 1,700 of those jobs. Total employment in the state climbed to nearly 794,000 during the month. The agency says part of the reason for the low unemployment rate is a drop in the state's labor participation rate. That's the percentage of people 16 years and older with jobs or looking for work. The agency says Idaho's rate is 63 percent, the lowest participation rate since May of 1976.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

Follow Betsy online: