COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County employers added roughly 800 jobs in February, according to the Idaho Department of Labor, drawing down the county's joblessness rate a happy few tenths of a percent.

The county's total employment bumped up from 67,200 in January to 68,000 in February, according to regional economist Alivia Metts, possibly indicating further stabilization of the economy.

"Compared to this time last year, we didn't see as much of an influx in jobs, both in employment levels and job openings," Metts stated.

The county's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 8.8 percent to 8.1 percent from January to February, according to stats Metts provided.

This mirrors an uptick in employment across Idaho, which saw the seasonal adjusted unemployment rate drop a tenth of a point to 8 percent last month.

Metts attributed the local job increase to North Idaho College instructors returning for the new semester from winter break.

"The numbers reflected the increase," she stated.

Whole trade also showed a substantial increase in activity, she reported.

Metts also noted there were roughly 500 less people unemployed in the county in February than January.

She believes the increasing number entering the labor force is due to long idle construction workers finally "seeing more opportunities," she stated.

"There have been more construction job openings than any other industry registered through the department over the past few months," Metts wrote in an email. "Although construction has a long way to go in order to reach pre-recession levels, this is a good sign."

Rod Underhill, owner of Underhill Construction in Coeur d'Alene, said he believes that could be true, though the industry is hardly regenerated.

Builders he knows in the area are seeing "a slight increase," in projects, he said.

"I think it's because the economy is finally getting a little bit better," Underhill said.

He has more work lined up this building season, too, he said, a relief after the past dry spell.

"It was a long two years," he said.

Total employment statewide reached 714,700 in February, according to Department of Labor stats, marking the eighth month in a row employment has risen.

Idaho's unemployment rate has fallen nearly a full percentage point since peaking at 8.9 percent in late 2010.

Just over 35,000 Idaho residents collected $35.3 million in state and federal unemployment benefits in February. That's down 20 percent from February, 2010, when 44,500 jobless workers received $44.7 million in benefits.

Metts predicted the job growth will continue.

"I think things will start to stable out and pick back up when we start entering the more seasonal, higher employment months," she stated.