BOISE, Idaho — For the ninth month in a row, Idaho's unemployment rate was listed below 3%; however, it did increase slightly from the prior month, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.
Idaho's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October was 2.9%, a 0.1% increase from September. But both the employment and unemployment rates increased from the last month.
Over the past month, the number of Idahoans employed or looking for a job grew by 1,714 people (0.2%) to 961,441, while the total number of Idahoans employed increased by only 455 to 933,268, according to the Idaho AG's office. The total number of unemployed Idahoans increased by 1,259 (4.7%) to 28,173.
Participation in the labor force is now sitting at 62.%, a decrease of 0.1%.
Nonfarm jobs in Idaho saw an increase of about 1,200 employees in October, and now sits at 827,900. The total number of nonfarm jobs in Idaho increased by 3.1% from October 2021.
Twin Falls' 4.3% increase of year-over-year nonfarm jobs led the state, followed by Boise and Idaho Falls at 2.9%.
Other industries that saw employee growth include accommodation and food services (4.8%); natural resources (2.3%); management of companies & enterprises (1.2%); real estate rental and leasing (1.0%); administration, support and waste management services (0.6%); and arts, entertainment and recreation (0.6%).
The industries that saw the greatest losses in October were private educational services (-4.1%); information (-2.2%); state government (-1.2%); durable goods manufacturing (-0.9%); other services (-0.8%); construction (-0.6%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (-0.6%); wholesale trade (-0.6%); and local government (-0.5%).
Of the six Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in Idaho, four saw over-the-month nonfarm job increases in October.
Idaho Falls had the largest increase at 0.4%, followed by Coeur d'Alene (0.3%), Boise (0.2%) and lastly Twin Falls (0.2%). Lewiston and Pocatello, the only two MSAs that didn't see an increase, saw declines of 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively.
When compared with data from this time last year, Idaho's unemployment rate is down 0.3%. However, the number of unemployed residents in the Gem State dropped by 5.3%, or 1,575 people. Employment increased by 4.6%.
October's nationwide unemployment rate went up 0.2% from September, now sitting at 3.7%. There were 6.1 million unemployed Americans in October, an increase of 328,564 from September.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
