Idaho labor force remains stable

For the fourth consecutive month Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 2.9% in October.

The Idaho Department of Labor places the state’s workforce at 884,545. The number of unemployed increased by 125 to 25,736.

The percentage of people aged 16 years or older working or looking for work, known as the labor force participation rate, remained unchanged at 64.1%.

According to the department, job growth in the Pocatello Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) remained unchanged, but dropped by -.3% in the Idaho Falls MSA.

The Conference Board in Washington D.C. said the number of online job listings in Idaho reached 28,019 in October. Of those, 9,464 openings were classified as hard-to-fill, up by 636 from a year ago. Most of those jobs are in health care professions.