Report: 1 in 15 Idaho workers without jobs - The Oregonian - OregonLive.com
10.01.09
BOISE -- One out of every 15 workers statewide was without a job last month as the unemployment rate climbed to its highest level in more than 20 years, the Idaho Department of Labor says.
The state lost more than 12,000 jobs last month, boosting the unemployment rate from 5.7 percent in November to 6.6 percent in December, according to a report the department released Friday.
Last month, the unemployment rate rose in all but four of the state's 44 counties. Adams County in central Idaho had the highest jobless rate, at 17.5 percent. In that former timber region struggling to survive the economic downturns of the logging and construction industry, there are 2,050 workers and one in every five does not have a job.
"We've lost so many things, the mill, and after that the hospital closed," said Adams County Treasurer Connie Kesler. "It's hard on a small community to lose that many jobs."
The federal Labor Department said Friday the national jobless rate in December was 7.2 percent.
Source: The Oregonian - OregonLive.com, OR