(KLIX) – There’s good news for Idaho’s job market: over-the-year non-farm job growth remains strong.

That’s the message from the Idaho Department of Labor, which recently released the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August.

August was the 21 consecutive month that the rate has been at or below 3 percent.

A news release about the unemployment rate explained that 2,815 people made themselves available for work in August, pushing the state’s seasonally adjusted labor force up to 879,220.

The number of unemployed increased by 433 to 25,492. Total employment grew by 2,382 to 853,728.

Other findings from the report include:

  • August’s statewide labor force was up 19,086 (2.2 percent)
  • Total employment was up 17,289 (2.1 percent)
  • Seasonally-adjusted non-farm jobs were up 2.1 percent from August 2018, representing a gain of 15,700 jobs.
  • Three of Idaho’s industry sectors experienced job gains of 3 percent or greater: 6.3 percent in professional and business services (5,900 jobs), 4.1 percent in financial activities (1,500 jobs) and 3.8 percent in manufacturing (2,600 jobs).

Idaho non-farm jobs decreased by 2,100 from July to August for a monthly total of 756,900. Seven of Idaho’s 11 industry sectors missed seasonal expectations, as seasonal industries began shedding summer jobs earlier or more quickly than expected. The largest declines were in construction (-1.2 percent), education and health services (-0.5 percent), professional and business services (-0.5 percent) and leisure and hospitality (-0.5 percent). Financial activities and government added a combined total of 700 jobs, while natural resources and information saw no change to employment levels.

The national unemployment rate for August was unchanged at 3.7 percent, according to the labor department. Total unemployed was down 19,000 from July for a total of 6 million people looking for work.

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