Idaho's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate ticked up two-tenths of a percentage point in July to 6.6 percent. The Idaho Labor Department reports this is the third-straight month the jobless rate has increased.
Total employment was down by 800 jobs, falling to 723,100. That's the lowest total employment figure reported since Oct. 2012.
A slight dip in typical employer hiring in nearly all sectors during July aggravated the moderate increase in the number of people looking for work, causing the second straight two-tenths percentage point increase in the jobless rate. The rate was 7.2 percent a year earlier. - Idaho Dept. of Labor
Labor Department analysts believe employers are still leery of adding new jobs. Still, 23,500 Idahoans were hired in July, but they were largely to fill vacancies.
The U.S. jobless rate ticked down in July to 7.4 percent.
