Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment edged up slightly again in December as year-over-year job losses continued and the number of Idaho workers without jobs in December reached 69,016 - an all time record.
December's statewide unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percent from November to 9.2 percent, the highest rate on record since unemployment reached 9.4 percent in late 1982 and early 1983, but still below the national rate of 10 percent for the 99th straight month.
Department analysts this week told the legislative Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee they expect Idaho’s unemployment rate may continue rising slightly in 2010 before leveling off in the 8 – 9 percent range by the end of the second or third quarter.
Month over month, job declines continued as analysts estimated Idaho lost 4,400 jobs between November and December. Almost all sectors saw monthly declines in all industries except for education, health services, leisure and hospitality. The largest monthly job losses occurred in construction, government, manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; and professional and business services.
Despite the monthly decrease in jobs, analysts say nonfarm job losses have essentially leveled out over the past four months and are beginning to follow pre-recession seasonal patterns. Idaho's year-to-year job losses went from an extreme of a ‐7.5 percent in August down to ‐5.3 percent in December, a signal that Idaho may have passed a statistical low point for job losses and is approaching the road to recovery.
Statistics show the year-over job loss gap continues to close because the slide was so severe at the end of 2008 and early in 2009, not because the current economy is creating new jobs.
New hire statistics show employers held hiring during the month of December to the lowest level since May and for all of 2009 the lowest since 1998 when those statistics began to be compiled. Total new hires for 2009 were off by 23 percent at 141,500, down 42,323 from 2008's total of 183,823.
Rural Idaho remained hard hit by the recession with 21 counties posting double-digit percentage jobless rates for December. All but two were rural. Only one county - Adams - exceeded 20 percent at 24.3 percent. Grangeville had the highest labor market area rate of 12.4 percent; Coeur d'Alene was next at 10.6 percent.
Caldwell had the highest unemployment rate for a city at 13.5 percent, followed by Nampa at 11.3 percent and Meridian at 10.2 percent. Boise's unemployment rate dropped slightly from 9.7 percent to 9.5 percent.
Unemployment insurance benefit payouts for December reached nearly $75 million - $36 million in regular and almost $39 million in federally-funded extended benefits – and were paid to a weekly average of over 52,440 jobless workers.
High levels of unemployment continue to take a toll on Idaho’s unemployment insurance system, but year over year the number of people collecting regular benefits is down by nearly 1,800 - the first time in two years regular benefits paid were less than the prior year.
2009 in Review
For all of 2009, year-end figures show 2,473 people left the labor force, down three tenths of a percent over 2008, while the average number of people out of work for the year increased by 24,293 or 66 percent.
Idaho's 2009 annual average unemployment rate is 8.1 percent, more than double 2007's record low of 3 percent and the highest annual average rate since 1986. Twelve counties had double digit annual unemployment rates in 2009. Adams had the highest at 15.4 percent; Canyon County was the only urban county with an average 2009 unemployment rate of 10.8 percent. Owyhee County had the lowest rate at 3.8 percent and the only county below 5 percent. The cities of Nampa and Caldwell averaged over 11 percent for all of 2009. Grangeville had the highest labor market area rate of 9.4 percent, followed by the Boise and Coeur d'Alene metro areas at 9.1 percent.
Year-end figures show the number of people who collected unemployment insurance benefits jumped from 81,000 in 2008 to 116,750 for all of 2009. Last year, unemployment insurance provided millions of dollars in relief to the thousands of Idahoans out of work and pumped more than a half billion dollars – $643 million – into Idaho’s economy, an all‐time record high for any payout year in the state's history and far exceeding 2008’s then‐record total of $247 million.
Seasonally Adjusted Forecast Data
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12/09
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11/09
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12/08
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Civilian Labor Force
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753,900
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759,200
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Unemployment
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69,000
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46,000
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% Labor Force Unemployed
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9.2
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9.1
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6.1
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Total Employment
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682,200
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686,500
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713,200
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Unadjusted Forecast Data
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Civilian Labor Force
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Unemployment
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% Labor Force Unemployed
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9.2
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6.5
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Total Employment
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