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Idaho 2017 unemployment rate increases slightly

| February 28, 2018 12:00 AM

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has revised Idaho’s statewide seasonally adjusted annual average unemployment rate for 2017 up slightly to 3.2 percent — one-tenth percent higher than the estimated 3.1 percent first reported.

Idaho’s December 2017 unemployment rate was also slightly higher at 3 percent — revised upward one-tenth of a percent from the 2.9 percent reported before the benchmark.

These minor revisions to the state’s unemployment estimates are the result of an annual benchmark process conducted by the BLS in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Labor. The BLS benchmarking process includes re-estimations from an improved model and updated data from the U.S. Census Bureau, BLS and other sources.

Other revisions include an upward adjustment of Idaho’s record low unemployment rate of 2.8 percent previously reported in September 2017 to 3 percent.

Idaho’s annual average labor force was 832,900 for 2017, up 2.5 percent over 2016. BLS revisions also show the state’s labor force increasing by 19,800 from January to December 2017, slightly more than the 18,400 pre-benchmark figure.

Revised statewide total employment figures ended the year with an increase of 24,300 during 2017, just over 8,000 more than previously estimated, up 3.1 percent over 2016.

Idaho’s unemployment totals are also slightly higher than previously reported, with an increase of 500 more unemployed Idahoans at the end of 2017 than the original estimates. Overall, 2017 unemployment totals were down 14 percent from 2016.