Department of Labor News Releases

Web Page Designed to Help Unemployment Claimants Know the Rules

6/18/2013 12:00:00 AM

The Idaho Department of Labor has created a new web page – www.labor.idaho.gov/uitips – to educate unemployment insurance claimants on how to correctly file for benefits and find a job.

The new web page includes a list of frequently asked questions, specific instructions on how to correctly report earnings, how-to videos, a quiz for claimants to test their knowledge, a job search tool and tools for maintaining and reporting work search contacts.

Long-term plans include stepping up education on unemployment insurance responsibilities of both claimants and employers; staff training so they can better help claimants comply with the law and find work; and creating a new computer system for benefit and tax payments to replace an existing system that’s more than 30 years old.

“Unemployment benefits play a critical role in Idaho’s economy by making sure laid off workers can pay their bills during severe recessions like this last one and still be here when the economy picks up and employers need them,” Department of Labor Director Roger B. Madsen said.

The new UI web tips page is part of a strategic initiative to prevent claimant misunderstandings and overpayments in anticipation of several changes. One of those changes includes the addition of interest on any money or associated penalties claimants owe the department for an overpayment of unemployment insurance benefits. The interest rate to be charged is the statutory rate for the year a lien is filed and will be added each month.

“We are committed to making sure that benefits go only to those who are eligible and in the amounts they deserve,” Madsen continued. “This initiative builds on a solid record of controlling claimant overpayments and ensuring employers pay the unemployment taxes they legitimately owe.”

Ten Employers Seek Health Care Workers at Caldwell Job Fair

6/18/2013 12:00:00 AM

Employers seeking health care workers will hold a job fair June 24 at the Idaho Department of Labor’s Canyon County office.

Representatives of 10 employers with openings throughout southwestern Idaho in home health, hospice and direct care will be on hand at the fair, which runs from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the department’s office in Caldwell, 4514 Thomas Jefferson St.

Participating employers are Harrison’s Hope, Absolute Home Health Care, A&R Case Management, Life’s Doors Home Health & Hospice, Homewatch CareGivers, A & A About Home Care Inc., Trinity Home Care & Resource, Addus Healthcare, MultiCare and At Home Care.

Interviewing tips from the Department of Labor are online at http://labor.idaho.gov/dnn/idl/JobSeekers/JobSearch.aspx

More information is available from department workforce consultant Ofelia Morales at Ofelia.Morales@labor.idaho.gov or (208) 364-7781 ext. 3954.

Six Southwestern Idaho Employers Seeking Welders

6/18/2013 12:00:00 AM

Six southwestern Idaho employers are holding a job fair Thursday at the Idaho Department of Labor’s Canyon County office to fill openings for welders.

The job fair runs from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Labor’s Caldwell office, 4514 Thomas Jefferson St.

Representatives from Bennett Machine & Welding Works, Gem State Staffing, Pro-Tech Welding, Select Staffing, Express Personnel and Idaho Steel/Reyco will be on hand to talk with jobseekers and take applications. Jobseekers should bring their certifications with them and be prepared to complete applications.

More information is available from department workforce consultant Lisa Anzaldua at Lisa.Anzaldua@labor.idaho.gov or (208) 364-7781 ext. 3172.

Disminuye el crecimiento de la población hispana en Idaho

6/17/2013 12:00:00 AM

La población hispana de Idaho se incrementó un 2.1 por ciento entre mediados de 2011 y mediados de 2012, la tasa de crecimiento más lenta desde que la Oficina del Censo de los EE.UU. (U.S. Census Bureau) comenzó a rastrear la población hispana en 1981.

Los estimados publicados el jueves por la Oficina del Censo sitúan a la población hispana de Idaho en 185.160, un poco más de 3.800 desde julio de 2011 y representan el 11.6 por ciento de la población total del estado. Quince estados tenían mayores concentraciones de hispanos, encabezados por Nuevo México con el 47 por ciento.

A nivel nacional, la población hispana creció un 2.2 por ciento a más de 53 millones, 16.9 por ciento de la población total, que aumentó un 0.7 por ciento entre mediados de 2011 y mediados de 2012.

En Idaho, la población hispana creció un 2.1 por ciento para el mismo período de tiempo en comparación con un aumento del 0.8 por ciento de toda la población del estado.

La tasa más baja de crecimiento de hispanos en Idaho hasta el año pasado fue en 1987 con el 2.3 por ciento cuando la población hispana del estado era de 47.673.

La desaceleración en el crecimiento de la población hispana del estado, en parte, el resultado de un menor número de hispanos que se mudan a Idaho desde otro lugar, está reduciendo la brecha en la proporción de la población joven.

En 2010, el 45.5 por ciento de todos los hispanos en Idaho tenían menos de 20 años, cayendo más de un punto porcentual completo a 44.2 por ciento en 2012. Los hispanos menores de 45 años representaron el 83.3 por ciento de la población total en el año 2010 en comparación con el año 2012, cuando el porcentaje se redujo al 82 por ciento.

La población general de Idaho también vio una contracción en esos grupos de edad, pero a menos de un punto porcentual - del 30.3 por ciento en 2010 al 29.5 por ciento en 2011 para las personas menores de 20 años y de 62.8 por ciento en el año 2010 al 61.9 por ciento en 2010 para las personas menores de 45 años.

El Condado de Clark, el más pequeño de Idaho en población, sigue teniendo la mayor concentración de hispanos con 40.7 por ciento, y es uno de los 11 condados donde la población hispana disminuyó. El Condado de Bonner en Panhandle tenía la menor concentración de hispanos con 2.4 por ciento.

Población hispana en Idaho en 2012
	Hispanos	% cambio desde 2011	% de total	Población total	% cambio desde 2011
Idaho	185,160	2.1%	11.6%	1,595,728	0.8%
Ada	30,396	3.7%	7.4%	409,061	2.0%
Adams	119	10.2%	3.0%	3,915	-1.9%
Bannock	6,110	4.1%	7.3%	83,800	0.3%
Bear Lake	234	3.5%	4.0%	5,907	-1.0%
Benewah	275	5.8%	3.0%	9,117	-0.5%
Bingham	7,939	-1.2%	17.5%	45,474	-0.8%
Blaine	4,288	0.1%	20.3%	21,146	0.2%
Boise	249	5.5%	3.6%	6,835	-2.7%
Bonner	957	0.1%	2.4%	40,476	-0.9%
Bonneville	12,951	4.1%	12.1%	106,684	0.9%
Boundary	454	13.5%	4.2%	10,808	0.0%
Butte	124	-6.8%	4.5%	2,740	-2.7%
Camas	72	-1.4%	6.7%	1,077	-2.0%
Canyon	47,024	1.9%	24.3%	193,888	1.3%
Caribou	367	7.6%	5.4%	6,787	-0.8%
Cassia	6,018	2.4%	25.9%	23,249	0.5%
Clark	354	-9.9%	40.7%	869	-8.8%
Clearwater	289	0.7%	3.4%	8,590	-0.7%
Custer	191	9.1%	4.4%	4,331	-0.1%
Elmore	4,154	-0.2%	15.8%	26,223	-0.2%
Franklin	858	-1.0%	6.7%	12,786	-0.1%
Fremont	1,609	-1.3%	12.4%	12,957	-1.3%
Gem	1,294	-5.1%	7.8%	16,673	-0.4%
Gooding	4,383	1.4%	28.7%	15,291	-0.6%
Idaho	486	8.5%	3.0%	16,308	-0.9%
Jefferson	2,761	0.8%	10.3%	26,684	1.4%
Jerome	7,374	2.9%	32.8%	22,499	0.0%
Kootenai	5,820	3.2%	4.1%	142,357	0.9%
Latah	1,447	2.7%	3.8%	38,184	0.8%
Lemhi	210	4.5%	2.7%	7,758	-2.7%
Lewis	149	8.8%	3.8%	3,889	2.1%
Lincoln	1,518	0.1%	28.8%	5,277	2.2%
Madison	2,361	0.4%	6.3%	37,456	-1.0%
Minidoka	6,528	-0.7%	32.6%	20,037	-0.5%
Nez Perce	1,212	4.4%	3.1%	39,531	0.3%
Oneida	133	-5.7%	3.2%	4,215	-0.1%
Owyhee	2,957	2.4%	25.9%	11,439	0.2%
Payette	3,513	3.2%	15.5%	22,639	0.6%
Power	2,389	1.6%	30.7%	7,778	0.2%
Shoshone	414	-1.4%	3.3%	12,702	0.3%
Teton	1,702	-2.4%	16.9%	10,052	-1.0%
Twin Falls	11,322	2.9%	14.4%	78,595	0.7%
Valley	403	2.3%	4.2%	9,545	-0.7%
Washington	1,752	0.1%	17.3%	10,099	-0.6%
*Fuente: Oficina del Censo de los EE.UU. (U.S. Census Bureau)*

Idaho’s Hispanic Population Growth Slows

6/13/2013 12:00:00 AM

Idaho’s Hispanic population increased 2.1 percent between mid-2011 and mid-2012, the slowest growth rate since the U.S. Census Bureau began tracking Hispanic population in 1981.

Estimates released by the Census Bureau on Thursday put Idaho’s Hispanic population at 185,160, up just over 3,800 from July 2011 to account for 11.6 percent of the state’s overall population. Fifteen states had higher concentrations of Hispanics, led by New Mexico at 47 percent.

Nationally, the Hispanic population grew 2.2 percent to over 53 million, 16.9 percent of the total population, which increased 0.7 percent between mid-2011 and mid-2012.

In Idaho, the Hispanic population grew by 2.1 percent for the same time period compared to a 0.8 percent increase for the entire state population.

Idaho’s lowest Hispanic growth rate until last year was in 1987 at 2.3 percent when the state’s Hispanic population was 47,673.

The state’s slowdown in Hispanic population growth, in part the result of fewer Hispanics moving to Idaho from elsewhere, is reducing the gap in the proportion of the population that is young.

In 2010, 45.5 percent of all Hispanics in Idaho were under 20 years old, slipping more than a full percentage point to 44.2 percent in 2012. Hispanics under age 45 accounted for 83.3 percent of the total population in 2010 compared to 2012, when the percentage fell to 82 percent.

Idaho’s overall population also saw a contraction in those age groups but at less than a percentage point – from 30.3 percent in 2010 to 29.5 percent in 2011 for people under age 20 and from 62.8 percent in 2010 to 61.9 percent in 2010 for people under age 45.

Clark County, Idaho’s smallest in population, continued to have the highest concentration of Hispanics at 40.7 percent and is one of 11 counties where the Hispanic population declined. Bonner County in the Panhandle had the smallest concentration of Hispanics at 2.4 percent.

2012 Idaho Hispanic Population
	Hispanic	% Chg from 2011	% of Total	Total Population	% Chg from 2011
Idaho	185,160	2.1%	11.6%	1,595,728	0.8%
Ada	30,396	3.7%	7.4%	409,061	2.0%
Adams	119	10.2%	3.0%	3,915	-1.9%
Bannock	6,110	4.1%	7.3%	83,800	0.3%
Bear Lake	234	3.5%	4.0%	5,907	-1.0%
Benewah	275	5.8%	3.0%	9,117	-0.5%
Bingham	7,939	-1.2%	17.5%	45,474	-0.8%
Blaine	4,288	0.1%	20.3%	21,146	0.2%
Boise	249	5.5%	3.6%	6,835	-2.7%
Bonner	957	0.1%	2.4%	40,476	-0.9%
Bonneville	12,951	4.1%	12.1%	106,684	0.9%
Boundary	454	13.5%	4.2%	10,808	0.0%
Butte	124	-6.8%	4.5%	2,740	-2.7%
Camas	72	-1.4%	6.7%	1,077	-2.0%
Canyon	47,024	1.9%	24.3%	193,888	1.3%
Caribou	367	7.6%	5.4%	6,787	-0.8%
Cassia	6,018	2.4%	25.9%	23,249	0.5%
Clark	354	-9.9%	40.7%	869	-8.8%
Clearwater	289	0.7%	3.4%	8,590	-0.7%
Custer	191	9.1%	4.4%	4,331	-0.1%
Elmore	4,154	-0.2%	15.8%	26,223	-0.2%
Franklin	858	-1.0%	6.7%	12,786	-0.1%
Fremont	1,609	-1.3%	12.4%	12,957	-1.3%
Gem	1,294	-5.1%	7.8%	16,673	-0.4%
Gooding	4,383	1.4%	28.7%	15,291	-0.6%
Idaho	486	8.5%	3.0%	16,308	-0.9%
Jefferson	2,761	0.8%	10.3%	26,684	1.4%
Jerome	7,374	2.9%	32.8%	22,499	0.0%
Kootenai	5,820	3.2%	4.1%	142,357	0.9%
Latah	1,447	2.7%	3.8%	38,184	0.8%
Lemhi	210	4.5%	2.7%	7,758	-2.7%
Lewis	149	8.8%	3.8%	3,889	2.1%
Lincoln	1,518	0.1%	28.8%	5,277	2.2%
Madison	2,361	0.4%	6.3%	37,456	-1.0%
Minidoka	6,528	-0.7%	32.6%	20,037	-0.5%
Nez Perce	1,212	4.4%	3.1%	39,531	0.3%
Oneida	133	-5.7%	3.2%	4,215	-0.1%
Owyhee	2,957	2.4%	25.9%	11,439	0.2%
Payette	3,513	3.2%	15.5%	22,639	0.6%
Power	2,389	1.6%	30.7%	7,778	0.2%
Shoshone	414	-1.4%	3.3%	12,702	0.3%
Teton	1,702	-2.4%	16.9%	10,052	-1.0%
Twin Falls	11,322	2.9%	14.4%	78,595	0.7%
Valley	403	2.3%	4.2%	9,545	-0.7%
Washington	1,752	0.1%	17.3%	10,099	-0.6%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau