POST FALLS — Kootenai County's unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent in January, the lowest its been in five and a half years, according to a report released this morning by the Idaho Department of Labor.

February's preliminary jobless rate, also released, is 6.4 percent.

The local rate has hovered 6.5 percent for the past seven months, but Alivia Metts, IDOL's regional economist, said she doesn't believe the number has bottomed out.

"I think the rate will continue to drop — albeit at a slow rate," Metts said. "We’re going to see some nominal ticks up and down, but overall, I think, it will continue downward at a slow rate. Part of the reason is employment growth will be slow. 

"My hope is that it won’t drop due to the labor force slowly dropping, but rather slow employment growth."

Metts said she expects a strong construction season, but the numbers won 't be reflected in employment.

"The trend has been through this recovery that construction crews are doing more with less," she said.

With Alliance Data, a firm that manages more than 130 private label and co-brand credit card programs, hiring at least 200 people this year and the constant flow of health care jobs available, there's reasons to be optimistic, Metts said.

Meanwhile, Idaho’s unemployment rate dropped another tenth of a percentage point in February to 5.3 percent, the lowest rate in five and a half years.

The decline, following a two-tenths of a point drop in January, came as the labor force participation rate — the percentage of the population 16 and older working or actively looking for work — fell a tenth of a percentage point to 63.7 percent.

Idaho’s participation rate dropped just below 64 percent last October — the first time in over 30 years — and has been gradually sliding since. That's likely a reflection of the influx of retirees, labor analysts say.

The nation's rate rose a tenth in February to 6.7 percent.