Panhandle Jobless Rate Up Slightly

August is the height of the tourist season in North Idaho, when most hotels, motels and restaurants typically add workers.

This year, many tourism-related businesses decreased their employment slightly, said Kathryn Tacke, a state labor analyst.

A decline in Canadian exchange rates - which kept many Canadians at home - seems to be one of the factors, she said.

The five counties that make up the Idaho Panhandle posted an 8.5 percent unemployment rate in August, according to a forecast by the state Department of Labor. The rate is up 0.3 percent from July.

Jobs in the electronics, lumber and wood products sectors also declined slightly, mostly due to the Asian financial crisis, Tacke said.

Those products are sold in Asian countries, which are buying less because of economic downturns. The lack of an Asian lumber market, for example, has created a sales glut in domestic markets, Tacke said.

County jobless rates:

Kootenai and Bonner counties had 8.2 percent unemployment rates for August, up from 7.9 and 7.7 percent, respectively, in July.

Boundary County’s unemployment rate was 9.3 percent, up from 8.5 percent in July.

Shoshone County had a 10.1 percent jobless rate in August, compared with 8.7 percent in July.

Benewah County’s 12.1 percent unemployment rate increased from 11.9 percent in July.