Idaho's jobless rate rose a tenth of a percentage point for the second consecutive month in February, lifting the state unemployment rate to 2.9 percent, the Idaho Department of Labor reported Friday.
More importantly, according to a local economist, the loss of an estimated 1,700 Idaho jobs between December 2006 and December 2007 settles the question about whether Idaho's economy has slipped into recession.
"A couple of months ago, people were wondering whether we were in a recession," said Don Holley, Boise State University professor of economics. "Now they say they know we are, and I would have to agree with that. The job losses were not just in one sector, but across the board. That's one sign that we're in a recession."
The Ada County unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point to 2.5 percent, while Canyon County's rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.3 percent.
Idaho's rate remains almost two percentage points below the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.8 percent.
More than 4,000 fewer Idahoans worked in February than in January, which means they had left the labor force. Some 600 more Idahoans could not find work, according to the department.
Construction has taken the biggest hit, having lost 1,040 jobs year-over-over, said Labor Department spokesman Bob Fick. Unemployed construction workers made up 30 percent of all unemployment claims in February, compared with 25 percent for the same period a year ago.
Fick said the department still does not know exactly how many other construction jobs were lost in February.
"We know we lost some, but we won't know exactly how many until next week," he said.
The continued loss of construction jobs reflects the slump in the state's housing sector, as well as indications that commercial construction jobs are now being lost.
The overall labor force dropped from a record 758,800 in January to 755,300, as economic growth continued to cool. Especially hard hit was the Boise metropolitan area, which saw its labor force shrink by 4,000.
Boise State University has reported record spring-semester enrollment, showing that some workers are opting to go back to school, state officials said. Some two-income households may have shed lower-paying jobs as skyrocketing gasoline and day care costs consumed more of their weekly paychecks.
Joe Estrella: 377-6465
