Local jobless rate increases
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 7 years AGO
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff Writer
POST FALLS — Kootenai County's jobless rate increased two-tenths of a percentage point, to 3.7% in July, according to a report Friday from the Idaho Department of Labor.
The local rate is higher than Idaho's 2.9% rate and is equal to the national level of joblessness.
The last time the county's rate was the same as the national rate was February 2016, when both were 4.9%.
"Since then, the county’s rate had been lower than the nation’s until July," said Kathryn Tacke, a regional economist for the Labor Department.
Tacke said analysts weren't sure if the local rate increase was a temporary phenomenon or the start of an ominous trend.
"It's important to remember that the county's rate is still very low compared to historic levels," she said. "It's less than half of the 40-year average of 7.7%."
Tacke said small layoffs in retail, manufacturing, temporary employment agencies and health care caused the local rate to increase slightly.
Looking ahead to fall, Tacke said the economic picture hinged on what happened nationally.
"The last two weeks have increased concerns about a possible recession," she said. "That would be hard on all industrial sectors in Kootenai County, but especially manufacturing, logging, transportation and construction."
Tacke said that on a national level, housing starts are declining, manufacturing is slowing down and the retail sector is losing jobs.
"Many investors believe rocky times are ahead as shown by recent stock market declines," she said. "The world economy looks like it is on the verge of a recession."
Idaho's rate, which increased a tenth in July, has been below 3 percent for 20 straight months.
An additional 2,834 people made themselves available for work in July, pushing Idaho’s seasonally adjusted labor force up to 876,539, the report states. The number of unemployed increased by 400 to 25,061. Total employment grew by 2,434, to 851,478.