Where are the jobs in Idaho?
Urban Idaho refers to the nine counties with a city of at least 20,000 residents. There are 44 counties in Idaho. Government employment continues to be the largest sector statewide. Utilities & Transportation followed this in urban counties for many years. By 2002, the percentages had changed, with Utilities & Transportation comprising only 20 % of the jobs and Government dropped to 17% in urban counties. Education & Health Services became the fastest growing industry at 77%. Agriculture is the only segment that showed a statewide loss. (1%) Urban counties consistently have lower unemployment rates than the state. The workforce and industries in rural counties are diverse. In rural areas the primary employment opportunities are in the fields of Government, Trade, Utilities, Transportation (21%) and Manufacturing (11%). Mining and Manufacturing were the only industries to report losses during the 10-year period ending in 2005. Idahos unemployment rate set a record low in December, 2005
