Idaho’s unemployment rate for March is down

According to the Idaho Department of Labor, Idaho’s unemployment rate for March went down.

It’s now at 3.8 percent, which is one-tenth of a percentage decline from February. While Idaho was lower, the national average increased to 5 percent. Idaho’s rate has been consistently lower than the national rate.

One local economic expert, Dan Cravens, said one reason Idaho’s rate is lower is because of agriculture. The agricultural industry brings in a lot of companies and a lot of jobs, helping lower the unemployment rate.

But Cravens said there’s more than just agriculture that makes Idaho’s rate lower. He said Idaho seems to be more attractive for business.

One reason for this Cravens said is the cost of living. A lower cost of living means lower wages and that’s a draw.

“For companies looking to locate, or for those that are already here, Idaho’s very attractive because you can get the work force you need for less money,” said Cravens.

But it’s not only a financial aspect that attracts business.

“A lot of folks here, and companies are beginning to know more and more about this, our reputation for having a good work ethic,” said Cravens. “It’s also a factor that attracts and keeps companies in our area.”

Local employment staffing agencies, such as Personnel Plus, said they find that to be true, too.

“We find that the people that walk through our doors are very sincere in looking for a job,” said Charles Mahler, with Personnel Plus.

So could unemployment drop so low that businesses have a hard time filling open positions, hurting their workflow and business?

Mahler doesn’t think so. He said businesses will always have a need.

“Even if it drops considerably low, new businesses are coming into the state, people are retiring, people are transferring and finding better jobs,” said Mahler. “So there’s enough economic activity here in Eastern Idaho and I’m sure it’s the same for most of the state as well that we always have a need to place employees.”

Cravens said if businesses have a hard time filling positions, they typically offer higher wages to attract workers. That could cause competitor businesses to do the same to retain current employees. Higher wages for workers means more money being spent out in the economy, so Cravens said it’s all one big circle, and it’s a good thing.

The Department of Labor’s report shows that even though the unemployment rate was down, there are still about 30,000 unemployed Idahoans across the state.

The department’s report also broke down unemployment by counties. According to the report, Clark and Madison counties had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.3 percent. Adams County had the highest at 9.9 percent.

The full report is on the Idaho Department of Labor’s website.