Area's jobless rate skyrockets past 7 percent

SANDPOINT - Bonner County's unemployment rate skyrocketed past seven percent last month, marking the first time in nearly three years the county recorded a higher jobless rate than the rest of the nation.

Bonner County's 7.2 percent October unemployment is more than double the 3.3 percent seen in October 2007 and is the highest the county has seen since 2003, said Kathryn Tacke, a regional economist with the Idaho Department of Labor.

Bonner County now has the tenth highest rate of unemployment in Idaho and routinely under-performs against state-wide jobless figures.

Tacke blames a portion of the abnormally-high numbers on the free-falling timber industry, which was responsible for more than 200 lost jobs in October alone. However, she said timber's downfall is only a portion of the problem.

A hiring slowdown in nearly every industry and a shaky stock market have sent consumer confidence plummeting. That lack of confidence results in people spending less money, which in turn forces more layoffs, Tacke said.

"When people lose jobs, they obviously have less money to live on," Tacke said. "In addition to that, you have a lot of folks in Bonner County, particularly in the western part of the county, that were laid off last year and have exhausted their benefits. So that really brings down buying power in the community."

Adding to the troubles, the stock market's volatility is especially tough on Bonner County due to its high number of retirees and part-time residents, many of whom live off retirement plans that have recently lost value, Tacke said.

While she would like to be optimistic about a quick fix or sudden turn around in the economy, Tacke said people should prepare for more difficulty in the immediate future.

"The more that I hear from the most expert economists in the nation, the more discouraged I get about how quickly we'll be able to pull out of this," Tacke said. "I hope we're bottoming out, but unfortunately there is more room to go down."

Even in dark macroeconomic days, Tacke said there are still bright spots in Bonner County's future.

"The long-term bright spot in Bonner County is manufacturing," Tacke said. ""Outside of the lumber and wood-products industry, the manufacturing industry in Bonner County is still adding jobs, and that's amazing. It's not happening in most of the United States, that's for sure."