Unemployment rate dips again in Kootenai County

The jobless rate dropped in 27 Idaho counties in December, and Kootenai County is one of them.

The Idaho Department of Labor reports the unemployment rate in Kootenai County, the one metropolitan area in the state that had posted double-digit unemployment rates for 19 straight months, dropped half a percentage point in December to 9.8 percent.

The number of Idaho counties with double-digit rates fell to 13 from 14 in November and 17 a year earlier while six counties had jobless rates of 6 percent or less, up from five in November and only two in December 2010.