Construction hiring helps Idaho workers

Sat., May 19, 2012

From Staff Reports

Majority of states adding jobs

The unemployment rate fell in two-thirds of U.S. states last month, evidence that modest economic growth is boosting hiring in most areas of the country.

And in many states, unemployment has fallen well below the national average, which was 8.1 percent last month. The rate was under 7 percent in 22 states in April. That compares with only 13 states in April 2011.

The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped in 37 states in April, the most in three months. Unemployment rose in 5 states and was unchanged in eight.

Nationally, the unemployment rate has fallen a full percentage point since August. Employers have added a million jobs over the past five months, though the pace of hiring slowed in March and April.

Overall, 32 states added jobs in April, the department said.

Nevada reported the highest unemployment rate in the nation, at 11.7 percent. Rhode Island was next at 11.2 percent, followed by California at 10.9 percent.

Associated Press

Idaho employers maintained hiring at seasonal levels in April, while the state’s labor force remained unchanged, driving the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate down for the ninth straight month to 7.7 percent.

Hiring was normal in all sectors except government and professional and business services, which posted below-normal job increases in April, the Idaho Labor Department said Friday.

Construction, retail and trucking all expanded payrolls well above normal, although construction and manufacturing payrolls remained at the levels of the early to mid-1990s.

The state’s jobless rate last month fell two-tenths of a percentage point from March and was 1.2 percentage points below the post-recession high of 8.9 percent last July. The April unemployment rate was the lowest since July 2009.

Employment numbers and unemployment rates for Idaho’s counties will be released Monday.

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Construction hiring helps Idaho workers

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