Idaho’s unemployment rate went up in June. The increase from 6.2 percent in May to 6.4 percent in June, makes it the second month in a row more Idahoans were looking for work.
The two-month uptick follows nearly two years of slow but steady declines in Idaho joblessness. National unemployment for June held steady at 7.6 percent.
Idaho’s increase comes in part because more than 1,400 people started looking for work last month. But it also reflects a slight drop in the total number of people with jobs.
Other numbers that stand out from the Idaho Department of Labor June employment report include:
- 49,400 Idahoans out of work, an increase of nearly 1,900 and the highest total since last November.
- 723,900 Idahoans employed, the lowest level since October 2012.
- On average, 170,000 Idaho workers held part-time jobs over the last 12 months, that's 23 percent of total employment. More than 33,000 report having those part-time jobs because they could not find full-time work.
- 43,000 workers, more than 6 percent of Idaho's labor force, had more than one job.
The Labor Department’s analysis of June's jobless numbers is that Idaho employers remain cautious about the future of the economy.