Idaho Department of Labor

Nearly 109,000 Idahoans have applied for initial unemployment since mid-March, according to the latest statistics from the Idaho Department of Labor. Thirteen thousand initial unemployment claims were made last week, a 30% drop from the prior week but still 12 times higher than last year’s average.

The City Club of Boise welcomed a curious audience to learn about efforts to develop a skilled labor force in Idaho.  For years, industry and the trades have recognized that a shortage of skilled laborers is coming. Many of our skilled workforce are aging out of their professions and young people have generally not been encouraged to view the trades as a viable, well paying career. If this trend cannot be reversed the economic impacts could be devastating.

New data from the Idaho Department of Labor shows a continuing decline in the state’s unemployment rate.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows the influx of people flocking to the Gem State boosting populations – and changing the fortunes – of a majority of Idaho’s cities. However, smaller communities aren’t seeing the same spikes.

One Idaho town is among the fastest-growing communities in the nation. That’s just one finding in the latest release of data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Idaho Department of Labor is out with its latest monthly jobs report. It finds the state’s unemployment rate has held steady for half a year.

Idaho’s unemployment rate has plummeted seven straight months to a record low in September. The state’s unemployment rate is 2.8 percent – the lowest it’s been since the statistic started being tracked in 1976.

Tuesday the head of the Idaho Department of Labor resigned from his job, effective immediately. Ken Edmunds has faced a handful of scandals while at the helm.

The Idaho Department of Labor says between 2015 and 2025, the state is expected to grow by 15 percent.

Using a new model to project these changes, the agency says the state’s pace is about three times higher than the nation’s when it comes to population.

So where is this boost coming from? The trend of older people moving to the state for retirement continues to lead the way. The department predicts the 65 and older crowd will grow by about 36 percent.

 UPDATE March 24: The Idaho Department of Labor says America's Job Link will offer victims a year of credit monitoring services.

The Department of Labor has set up a phone number for victims who have questions. That number is 1-844-469-3939.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Idaho Department of Labor says around 170,000 of the department's 530,000 job-seeker accounts have been hacked.

Between July 2015 and July 2016 the state grew by more than 30,000 people. That's according to the latest census data, and is the biggest increase since 2008.

The 1.8 percent gain comes from people who moved to the Gem State from other parts of the country, and from babies born in Idaho. The state is fifth when it comes to in-migration and seventh for births. Utah topped the list for growth by percentage, followed by Nevada. Other western states like Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Arizona also made it in the top-10 list.  

Weekly wages in Idaho’s private sector are on the rise, according to a recent report out by the state’s Department of Labor.

Weekly earnings have increased by $30 from the second quarter of 2015 to the second quarter of this year, according to the report.

The 4.2 percent growth rate that’s pushed the weekly wage up to 743 dollars is double the national average. Robust growth like that puts Idaho in fourth place nationally for over-the-year wage growth.

Idaho’s unemployment rate dropped in November to its lowest rate in nearly seven years, in part because the labor force is shrinking.

Idaho Department of Labor spokesman Bob Fick says November's 3.9 percent jobless rate was down two-tenths of a point from October.

“There’s usually a decline in jobs from October to November and that decline was less than in the past and there continue to be people who left the labor force,” says Fick. “So the combination of steady jobs and lower labor force was responsible for driving down the unemployment rate under four percent.”

The new head of Idaho's Labor Department says the state needs to shift its focus to better paying jobs that will help grow the state's economy. 

Ken Edmunds is now in his second month as the head of Idaho’s Labor Department. The Twin Falls businessman replaced longtime labor director Roger Madsen in late November.