Jobless numbers drop

POST FALLS - Agnes Kane has been seeking a permanent part-time job for nearly two years, but has come up empty.

After the Post Falls woman was laid off from her retail sales job of seven years, she has relied on latching onto short-term seasonal jobs ranging from the fair to the Christmas shopping season to get by.

"It's an employer's market right now," Kane said. "I've been looking for anything retail or medical to supplement the meager money that I do have."

Kootenai County's jobless rate of 9 percent for August was released by the Idaho Department of Labor on Friday.

That's down from 9.3 percent in July and 11.4 percent in August 2011.

The rate had dipped to 7.9 percent in January before climbing and peaking at 9.7 percent in May.

Alivia Metts, Idaho Department of Labor regional economist, said the most recent drop can be attributed to more than 200 additional jobs from July to August in the leisure and hospitality trades. Other industries that added jobs during that time included construction, retail, financial activities, professional and business services, education and health services and government.

"The trend over the past several months has been in leisure and hospitality and professional and business services," Metts said.

Kane hasn't lost hope that a job will turn up. She attended a resume writing class at IDL on Friday to get an edge in the market.

James Drennen, a workforce consultant at IDL, said job seekers shouldn't expect a lot of relief anytime soon.

"I think you're going to see fluctuations until we see what happens with the election," he said.

Post Falls' Edward Gondo, who spent 20 years in the military and has a master's degree in health care administration, has been looking for a job since March. His position in the Army for seven years was logistics coordination.

Gondo's job search has even included retailers and home improvement stores. Nothing has come up.

Gondo has a wife and five children and his family has been scraping by on his $2,200 a month retirement. Rent, he said, consumes $1,600 of it. He said his preference would be to find a local job so he could be with his family rather than enlisting another four years in the military.

"My wife buys items at thrift stores and re-sells them just so we can make ends meet," Gondo said.

Robert Shoeman, IDL veterans' rep, said some job seekers have continued to go to the oil fields for work. Other recent openings have occurred in law enforcement and manufacturing.

"Recently discharged veterans are facing challenges adjusting to the civilian world and are shocked to find it difficult to find a job," Shoeman said.

Post Falls' jobless rate dropped to 9 percent in August from 9.6 in July, while Coeur d'Alene's rose from 8.4 to 8.5.

Benewah is among nine counties that had double-digit unemployment in August at 12.2 percent, down from 12.8 in July.

The state's unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 7.4 percent in August, while the national rate dropped two-tenths of a point to 8.1 percent. The state's rate has been below the national rate for 11 years.

The loss of 2,600 workers from the state's labor force - the first July-August decline since 1980 - offset an increase in hiring by Idaho employers.

The state's jobless rate in August was the lowest in more than three years, but it was also the third straight month Idaho's labor force has contracted. The loss of more than 5,500 from the workforce through the summer - the largest three-month exodus of workers on record - left the labor force at its lowest level since January.

Vets job fair

A Hiring Our Heroes job fair for veterans and their spouses will be held on Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, 4056 N. Government Way, in conjunction with the Stand Down that assists vets in need.