Idaho unemployment rate drops to 3.2 percent

Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May fell to 3.2 percent. According to the Idaho Department of Labor, the drop is the result of 2,200 Idahoans leaving the workforce or ending their search for work. During the same time frame, total employment dropped by 1,250 and the total number of unemployed fell by 950. Six of the state’s 11 industry sectors showed job declines, including construction, trade, transportation, and utilities. Only three sectors of the economy showed job gains, including professional and business services, education and health services. The percentage of people 16 years and older with jobs or looking for work dropped to 63.4 percent. That is the lowest participation rate since July 1976. Coeur d’Alene (up 1 percent) and Idaho Falls (up 0.2 percent) experienced the largest job increases month over month. Pocatello was down 0.5 percent. Madison County continued to experience the lowest unemployment rate in Idaho at 1.9 percent.