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

Idaho unemployment drops again, to 3.1%

Unemployment in Idaho dropped to 3.1 percent in June, the fourth consecutive month that the seasonally adjusted rate fell; it was 3.2 percent in May, and 3.8 percent in June of 2016.

The Idaho Department of Labor reports that while 25,351 Idahoans were listed as unemployed, it had 24,200 online job postings; however, nearly 5,200 of those were classified as hard to fill positions, for jobs such as surgeon and physical therapist. The most common job listings in Idaho are for truck drivers, registered nurses and customer service representatives.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in June was 4.4 percent, up from 4.3 percent a month earlier.

Among Idaho’s 44 counties, 21 were at or above the state rate. The highest were Shoshone County at 6.1 percent and Clearwater County at 6 percent; lowest was Madison, in southeastern Idaho, at 1.7 percent. Kootenai County’s June unemployment rate was 3.5 percent.