Counties with the highest unemployment in Idaho
Unemployment rates are rising across U.S. metropolitan areas, provoking alarm across the nation and likely leading to interest rate cuts in September.
As of July, unemployment rates increased in 350 out of 389 U.S. metros areas—including 47 of the 51 largest metros, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Idaho, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in July 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
The national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 4.3%. Still, it's up substantially from 3.5% during the same month last year and has climbed to the highest rate since November 2021. By comparison, unemployment rates surged to 10% in October 2009 during the Great Recession, and a full recovery took years. At the height of the brief COVID-19 recession in April 2020, unemployment hit 14.7%.
The Federal Reserve has shifted its focus from curbing inflation to unemployment, indicating plans to cut interest rates in the coming weeks and months to alleviate economic strain and avoid further job losses.
Since last year, unemployment has spiked in over half of states—a signal often indicating a looming recession, as Piper Sandler Chief Global Economist Nancy Lazar told Business Insider. These jobless rates, paired with layoffs among major U.S. employers like Google and Tesla, have sparked concern among Americans. Minus a major economic blow, economists continue to forecast that the U.S. is tracking toward an incremental slowdown in growth known as a "soft landing."
To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Idaho.
#44. Teton County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,936 people (210 unemployed)
#43. Fremont County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.7%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,113 people (217 unemployed)
#42. Camas County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.8%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 609 people (17 unemployed)
#41. Oneida County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,541 people (73 unemployed)
#40. Gooding County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,883 people (259 unemployed)
#39. Blaine County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 2.9%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,720 people (426 unemployed)
#38. Clark County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 541 people (16 unemployed)
#37. Madison County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,570 people (734 unemployed)
#36. Bear Lake County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,052 people (96 unemployed)
#35. Caribou County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,711 people (115 unemployed)
#34. Valley County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,216 people (223 unemployed)
#33. Jefferson County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,407 people (508 unemployed)
#32. Bonneville County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 67,774 people (2,086 unemployed)
#31. Minidoka County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,578 people (398 unemployed)
#30. Franklin County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,214 people (236 unemployed)
#29. Cassia County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 13,005 people (424 unemployed)
#28. Bingham County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,732 people (822 unemployed)
#27. Custer County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,550 people (87 unemployed)
#26. Lemhi County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,498 people (153 unemployed)
#25. Ada County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 297,075 people (10,192 unemployed)
#24. Jerome County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,933 people (459 unemployed)
#23. Nez Perce County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 22,331 people (795 unemployed)
#22. Butte County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,262 people (47 unemployed)
#21. Lincoln County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,736 people (101 unemployed)
#20. Power County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 2.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,296 people (160 unemployed)
#19. Twin Falls County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 46,773 people (1,716 unemployed)
#18. Bannock County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 45,212 people (1,699 unemployed)
#17. Elmore County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,837 people (508 unemployed)
#16. Latah County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,839 people (788 unemployed)
#15. Kootenai County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 90,799 people (3,627 unemployed)
#14. Boise County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,276 people (184 unemployed)
#13. Owyhee County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,118 people (264 unemployed)
#12. Canyon County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 122,494 people (5,303 unemployed)
#11. Gem County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,216 people (403 unemployed)
#10. Lewis County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,736 people (78 unemployed)
#9. Bonner County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,083 people (1,028 unemployed)
#8. Benewah County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,431 people (202 unemployed)
#7. Idaho County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,669 people (351 unemployed)
#6. Payette County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,937 people (562 unemployed)
#5. Washington County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,716 people (228 unemployed)
#4. Boundary County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1-month change: No change
--- 1-year change: Up 1.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,841 people (280 unemployed)
#3. Adams County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.0%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,081 people (104 unemployed)
#2. Shoshone County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,885 people (301 unemployed)
#1. Clearwater County
- July unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,583 people (200 unemployed)
This story features data reporting and writing by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.