How low can the jobless rate go?

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

POST FALLS — Kootenai County's unemployment rate has dipped to its lowest point since December 2007.

The rate in April was 3.7 percent — six-tenths of a percent lower than March, according to an Idaho Department of Labor report released on Friday.

"This drop in the unemployment rate was surprising to me," said Sam Wolkenhauer, Labor regional economist. "The drop is due to a significant share of the unemployed leaving the labor force rather than a significant jump in employment.

"This could be an indicator that many of the long-term unemployed have given up on the job search process temporarily. With unemployment this low, it’s likely that the labor market is now struggling to match job seekers with openings for reasons related to necessary skills."

Wolkenhauer provided an economic briefing to Kootenai County commissioners this week, focusing on demographics and the skills required of the modern workforce.

"We discussed the difficulty that manufacturers and builders are experiencing filling skilled positions, and how the ongoing influx of new retirement-age residents from other states is heating up our local housing market and driving demand for health care and services," he said.

Wolkenhauer said he's optimistic Kootenai County will be a high-growth county in the long run.

This is the first time Kootenai County's unemployment rate has dropped below 4 percent in the post-recession period.

"By June 2008, the rate had risen above 6 percent en-route to double digits," he said.

A year ago at this time, the local jobless rate was 4.9 percent.

The number of unemployed workers in Kootenai County decreased from 3,200 to 2,728 from March to April, narrowing an already tight labor market even further.

Significant drops in the number of unemployed Idahoans and people looking for work pushed the state’s unemployment rate down to 3.4 percent in April — down a tenth of a percent from March. The nation's rate decreased by the same amount to 4.4 percent.

The report states Idaho’s labor force — the number of people working or looking for work — dropped by 2,500, the second consecutive decline after 48 months of increases, while the number of unemployed dropped by 1,500.

Three industry sectors experienced larger- than-normal gains in April, including leisure and hospitality (up 1,400), manufacturing (up 1,200) and education and health services (up 1,000).

Natural resources, information, other services and government met seasonal expectations with no over-the-month job gains or declines. Professional and business services (down 1,700), trade, transportation and utilities (down 300), financial activities (down 200) and construction (down 200) all experienced larger-than-normal losses.

The jobless rates in two North Idaho counties are the second- and third-highest in the state — Benewah at 6.9 percent and Shoshone at 6.5 percent.

Clearwater County is the highest at 8.1 percent, while Madison County continued to experience the lowest unemployment rate at 1.7 percent.