According to Help Wanted Online, there were 63,010 online job postings in Idaho during July, equating to 2.6 job openings for every unemployed Idahoan looking for work, the department reported.

Idaho’s nonfarm jobs exceeded seasonal expectations in July, showing an adjusted increase of 4,300 jobs to 823,000, the department reported. Industry sectors with the greatest over-the-month gains include health care and social services (2.8%); federal government (1.6%); private educational services (1.5%); arts, entertainment and recreation (1.3%); durable goods manufacturing (1.2%); information (1.2%); professional and business services (0.9%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (0.6%); and local government (0.5%).

Industries with the greatest job declines in July were other services (-2.7%); accommodation and food services (-0.8%); wholesale trade (-0.6%); and financial activities (-0.3%).

Idaho’s July unemployment rate is the first over-the-month increase in the state’s rate since July 2019. The rate has been at historic lows this year.

Year-over-year, Idaho’s unemployment rate was down 1 percentage point from July 2021. The labor force was up 3.7%, an increase of 33,593 people, the department reported.

Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in July from June’s rate of 3.6%, and the number of unemployed decreased by 166,228 to 5.7 million. The national unemployment rate was equal to its pre-pandemic rate of 3.5% in February 2020. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 528,000 (0.3%) to 152.5 million, which was just above pre-pandemic levels.