Blame it on the rain.

Kootenai County's unemployment rate, which typically drops in May with seasonal jobs heating up, edged upward last month to 11.4 percent, according to a report released by the Idaho Department of Labor on Friday.

The rate is up from 11.2 percent in April.

"A lot of (the increase) is attributed to the weather," said Alivia Body, IDOL's regional labor economist. "A lot of landscapers are late with their services, the logging industry couldn't get in on roads and the tourism season is behind.

"Everything is lagging."

Body describes the economy as "stagnant."

The state's unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a point to 9.4 percent in May, the second straight month it dropped. The national rate rose two-tenths to 9.4 percent.

The rate in Coeur d'Alene rose from 11.3 to 11.8 percent in May and from 11.5 to 12.5 percent in Post Falls.

In Benewah County, the rate jumped from 13.6 percent in April to 15.1 percent in May.

Post Falls' Alisa Tolley is among those learning how even temporary or seasonal jobs are hard to find.

"I'm looking for summer work to supplement my husband's income," she said while surfing for jobs at the Department of Labor in Post Falls on Friday. "I think I waited too long. I've been looking for about a month."

Tolley said she has found some job openings that have the graveyard shift or evening hours, but she needs something during the day while her child is in day care.

"It's a challenge," she said. "I'm not really sure what I'm going to do this summer."

Job seeker Joe Dixon of Rathdrum knows the feeling. He has been looking for work for several months in the construction industry.

"It's a bear out there," he said.

Construction, which bore the brunt of the recession after the housing bubble burst, generated jobs a little faster than the five-year average, but total construction employment at less than 29,000 in May was still at 1994 levels, according to the Department of Labor.

Employment in Idaho's construction sector was down 3 percent - or 900 jobs - compared to May 2010.

Associated General Contractors of America officials said employment will likely remain spotty as long as broader economic growth remains relatively modest.

They said increased regulatory burdens and stalled infrastructure investment programs are hampering economic growth.

"Increasing red tape, cutting infrastructure investments and avoiding the causes of our federal deficit aren't helping the economy or boosting construction employment," said Stephen Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer.

Even though Idaho's rate fell again, employers hired at less than the seasonal norm, according to the Department of Labor.

Substantial increases the previous three months in the number of people entering the labor force evaporated in May. Below-normal seasonal hiring that provided jobs for new entrants and almost 1,600 previously unemployed workers was responsible for driving the state rate down.

Manufacturers hired a few dozen more workers than normal for May, offering the brightest spot in Idaho's jobs picture. But manufacturing payrolls across the state still totaled less than 54,000 for the sixth straight month, stuck at 1991 levels.

Retailers added staff at the expected rate in May, maintaining a stability that suggests consumers are not pulling back. Employment agencies also adding more jobs than the five-year average would expect, continuing a year-long recovery that suggests employers are taking advantage of growth opportunities but are not ready to expand their own payrolls.

Businesses services, often an early sign of where the economy is headed, held its own in May at just more than 11,000 jobs. Still, the subsector has been wedged between 11,000 and 12,000 jobs for more than three years.

Even health care, which grew steadily through the recession and since, generated new jobs at only half the pace of the previous five years.

The Conference Board, a business think tank, found there were still nearly four unemployed workers for every job opening in Idaho during May. More than 10,000 people have exhausted all their unemployment benefits without finding work.