It hasn't gotten worse.

The unemployment rate in Kootenai County remained the same in May as it did the month before, according to the Idaho Department of Labor, though the jobless rate for the whole state decreased last month for the third month in a row.

The unemployment rate in Coeur d'Alene MSA, which includes all of Kootenai County, remained at 9.9 percent in April and May, according to IDOL seasonally adjusted forecast data.

Statewide, meanwhile, the rate bumped down a tenth of a percent to a forecasted 9 percent from April to May. Jobless rates in more than half of Idaho's counties showed declines from April.

"For counties with small population bases, there just one company makes a difference," said Alivia Body, regional economist with the Department of Labor. "Now that the season is picking up more (for certain industries), the jobless rate has declined."

Kootenai County's unemployment rate has stayed consistent, Body said, because the labor force has increased while fewer jobs are available.

"We had 245 job openings in May, and from May 2009 to May 2010 we actually lost 802 jobs," Body said.

There are signs of improvement.

New employment in Kootenai County has largely occurred in construction, retail and tourism services, Body said, which she attributed to seasonal demand.

Health care jobs are also rising as more people retire, she added.

"We're hoping that trend will continue," Body said. "Basically we're going to start having a lot more month over month gains as the trends continue."

Mike Cerrillo, owner of Coeur d'Alene Structures, said his crews aren't seeing much demand for residential construction right now, but commercial jobs are keeping them in business.

"It (residential construction) used to be probably 90 to 80 percent of our work, now it's switched gears to commercial," Cerrillo said. "It's good. We're definitely happy to have that."

He does have worries that the work is only seasonal, however.

"It's kind of speculative to what's coming ahead," he said. "I'm kind of worried about this winter, but we have enough to keep us busy through part of the winter."

Besides concerns about seasonal jobs disappearing, Body said, another issue is the pending loss of federal census jobs that temporarily boosted the nation and county.

Stacy McBain, regional census spokesperson, said census jobs will be winding down in June.

"We are doing a great job as far as progress. We're winding it down earlier than planned," McBain said. "Some jobs have already ended, while some enumerators (door-to-door census workers) have had more assignments, and some are still working administrative jobs."

McBain didn't know how many census workers are employed in Kootenai County.

The federal government provided roughly 2,000 jobs this year in Idaho, most of them for the census, according to Department of Labor statistics.

One detail that will help maintain Kootenai County's economy, Body said, is increased manufacturing as businesses diversify.

Some local companies have entered foreign markets like Mexico and Asia, she said, which supports local jobs that will remain stable throughout the year.

"They're expanding their market base," she said. "It's a global market, and they can't just survive right here in the U.S."

Idaho Forest Group, based in Coeur d'Alene, has been exporting products to China, Japan and Korea for about a year, said Erol Deren, vice president of sales and marketing.

The expanded market base has helped the company maintain the roughly 500 employees working in its four mills, Deren said.

"That's production that, with the current economic and housing situation, can't be absorbed domestically," Deren said. "The ability to penetrate these outside markets overseas has allowed us to keep the mills running at a time where if we didn't have that outlet, we might have to restrict production, which would cause layoff on personnel."

Idaho employers hired nearly 10 percent more workers in May than they did the year before.

Still, more than 68,000 Idaho workers were jobless last month.

More will be hungry for work as extensions to federal benefit payments run out this week and in upcoming weeks, Body said.

"A lot of other (individuals) will start entering the workforce as they see more opportunities. That might bring up the jobless rate," she said. "Then we'll have another large pool of labor force and not as many jobs available."