Idaho’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate fell for the fourth consecutive month in June to 3.1 percent, further squeezing an already tight labor market, officials said.
June’s unemployment drop is the result of more than 2,000 Idahoans exiting the workforce or ending their work search, according to an Idaho Department of Labor news release. Total employment dropped by nearly 700, while the total number of unemployed fell by almost 1,300, it said.
Nationally, the unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent -- up from May -- as the country’s labor force increased by .2 percent and the participation rate rose slightly to 62.8 percent.
Month-over-month, June estimates show Idaho’s total non-farm payroll jobs increased by one-tenth of a percent, up 400 to 709,200. Five of the state’s eleven industry sectors showed job declines including natural resources, manufacturing, financial activities, other services and trade, transportation and utilities.
Five sectors showed job gains. Construction jobs increased by 600, government jobs by 500, professional and business services by 400, information positions by 200, and education and health services by 200. Leisure and hospitality was unchanged from May.
The state’s labor force participation rate -- the percentage of people 16 years and older with jobs or looking for work -- dropped to 63.2 percent, the lowest participation rate since June, 1976. Idaho’s participation rate has fallen just under one percent from February.
