Idaho’s unemployment rate fell to five percent in April, which was the lowest level since July 2008, according to a recent report from the Idaho Department of Labor.
More than 20,000 jobs were created in the state since January. State officials expressed optimism that pre-recession job levels could be reached by the end of the year.
Employers in the state recorded 15,000 new hires last month, more than half for new positions. Hiring in the state’s construction and manufacturing sector was higher than usual. Approximately 15 percent of the state’s non-farm jobs are in the production of goods.
“The state of the commerce in Idaho is good,” Idaho Gov. C.L. Otter said, according to the Idaho State Journal. “We have come out of this recession in a leadership position, in a position to grow.”
According to the Idaho Department of Labor, more than 1,500 people reentered the job market in April, which represents the highest one-month increase since early 2010. The labor force participation rate topped out at 63.8 percent in April, marking the first increase since last June.
The number of people who are off the job in Idaho fell to 38,900. It was the first time the number dipped below 40,000 since August 2008.
Otter launched a three-point strategy earlier this month to promote economic growth by mobilizing local communities and private industry. The state’s gross domestic product (GDP) was $51.5 billion per year when Otter took office in 2007. In 2009, Otter launched “Project 60,” an initiative to increase Idaho’s GDP to at least $60 billion a year.
With the state’s GDP projected to reach $62 billion in 2014, Otter launched the new “Accelerate Idaho” initiative. Accelerate Idaho will focus on building a high-skilled workforce, elevating existing industry through business opportunities and research and development, and strengthening communities through infrastructure development and regional collaboration.