REXBURG – Madison County continues to have the lowest jobless rate in the state — about 2 percent less than the national average.
By the numbers
It had 2.8 percent unemployment in July, the month with the most recent data available. In June, the county was also the lowest statewide at 2.7 percent.
In contrast, Idaho had a 3.7 percent unemployment rate statewide in July, while nationwide that number was 4.9 percent. The highest jobless rate in Idaho was Lewis County, at 7 percent.
Specifically, Rexburg had the lowest unemployment rate in both July of this year and July 2015, sitting at 2.9 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
Madison County’s numbers are a dramatic decrease from the peak of the recession, when in 2009, the county had an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent.
Full-time students are not counted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as part of the labor force, so because Rexburg is home to Brigham Young University-Idaho, the statistics may be even more understated. Because the university’s enrollment numbers have repeatedly increased, it plans for expansion and is one of Rexburg’s largest employers.
Unemployment vs underemployment
The downside, however, is that the Department of Labor estimated Madison County had the highest underemployment rate in the state. Underemployment refers to a situation where a person is employed, but the worker’s hours, wages, or benefits are less than what is desired. Nearly half of Madison County reportedly was underemployed in 2013.
In 2013, the per capita income in Madison County was $21,622 while the rest of Idaho’s was at $35,641, according to the DOL.
Hope Morrow, an eastern regional economist for the Idaho Department of Labor, said the word “underemployment” can be misconstrued as a negative thing.
To some, underemployment means people who want to work more and aren’t given the opportunity, or people who are overqualified for their jobs. She used the example of a person with a high-level degree working as a waitress.
In Madison County, Morrow said, many people are students who work part time, but as a student that can be a positive thing, so the numbers aren’t as obvious as they seem.
She said the standard families in Madison County also play a role in the statistics around the labor force.
“In the culture of eastern Idaho and Madison County, traditional mothers are sometimes volunteering to be part time,” said Morrow on underemployment.
Because some parents volunteer to work part-time, it may seem as if the county has a high “underemployment” rate, but that isn’t always a bad thing to that community, because some families work part time by choice.
Because many people in Madison County have large families, Morrow said the workforce is also larger and businesses see opportunity, creating jobs for those growing population numbers.
Additionally, because BYU-Idaho’s students are a source of cheap, part-time labor, businesses are more likely to develop in Madison County in an effort to build off the opportunity, she said.
To see more details on July’s employment numbers in Idaho, click here and here.
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