Briefs for Saturday

May 20, 2022 Updated Fri., May 20, 2022 at 9:26 p.m.

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to a historic low of 2.6% in April, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.

The Gem State’s unemployment rate last month was down from 2.7% in March.

April’s unemployment rate marks the third consecutive month of historic lows since recordkeeping began in 1976, according to the labor department.

Idaho added 5,409 jobs in April, bringing the total number of positions in the state to 912,953, the department reported Friday.

Nonfarm jobs exceeded expectations in April, increasing 3,000 positions to 815,500. Total nonfarm jobs were 5.3% above the pre-pandemic peak in 2020.

Industry sectors that posted the greatest month-over-month job gains included natural resources, wholesale trade, professional and business services, private education services and nondurable goods manufacturing.

Industry sectors with a decline in employment last month include arts, entertainment and recreation, information, and other services.

Mining companies withdraw in Brazi

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RIO DE JANEIRO – Some of the world’s biggest mining companies have withdrawn requests to research and extract minerals on Indigenous land in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, and have repudiated Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s efforts to legalize mining activity in the areas.

The Brazilian Mining Association (Ibram), which represents around 130 companies, conducted an internal survey of its members earlier this year, according to Raul Jungmann, its president.

For the first time in decades, none of the companies have current research or mining applications for gold, tin, nickel, iron and other ores in Indigenous areas, he said.

Neither the survey nor its results have been reported previously.

Members of the association, which accounts for 85% of Brazil’s legally produced ore, include mining giants Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Vale.

From staff and wire reports

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