Idaho joblessness hits 25-year high

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Story Published: Jul 2, 2009 at 3:39 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jul 2, 2009 at 3:41 PM PDT

By KLEW Web Staff

BOISE - It's not a good sign for the Idaho economy.

The Department of Labor says the jobless rate in the state is the highest it's been in 25 years.

Businesses hired fewer people last month than they have during June for the last decade, pushing the forecasted seasonally adjusted unemployment rate up another half percentage point to 8.3 percent.

June's rate was the highest jobless rate since October 1983 when the state was pulling out of the double-dip recession that ushered in a major economic shift from natural resources to services.

Another 3,400 Idaho residents lost their jobs in June. The month marks the first time the number of unemployed in the state has topped 62,000.

Over 40,000 of those workers shared $59 million in unemployment insurance benefits paid out during the month.

Lewiston's unemployment rate went up from 6.3 in May to 6.8 percent last month.

A local bright spot in the gloomy picture: Grangeville's jobless rate actually went down during the same time period, from 7.7 to 7 percent.

(Associated Press contributed to this story.)

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