Hope for the future? Well, maybe
Gem State labor chief speaks at Fruitland chamber session

By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Friday, March 13, 2009 11:52 AM PDT

Idaho Department of Labor Director Roger Madsen addresses members of the area business community at the Fruitland Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday.

FRUITLAND

The message for the current employment situation in Payette County and the state of Idaho appears to be one of cautious optimism by state and local officials.

Both Idaho Department of Labor Payette Office Manager Jim Smith and Idaho Department of Labor Director Roger Madsen reported the latest updates at the Fruitland Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday in Fruitland.

Smith said the latest unemployment numbers for February indicate, in Payette County, the unemployment rate is at 8.7 percent, which is actually a modest decrease from December’s figure of 9.9 percent. He added unemployment in Washington County is at 7.4 percent.

“We’re doing better,” Smith said, adding that surprised him a bit given recent layoffs in Payette County. “I thought it would go the other direction.”

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During his presentation, Madsen also shared a more positive outlook, even while sharing bleak news about unemployment insurance at the state level.

He said, while he knows many who are currently out of work do not share his optimism, he feels Payette County and the state of Idaho, on the whole, will weather this economic downturn.

“Your economy is strong,” he told the group.

He said, even though the economy has suffered some blows lately, with more layoffs from Woodgrain, it is diverse and has strong businesses in Seneca and Dickinson.

The picture, however, is much different than it was a couple of years ago in Idaho. The current figures for the state indicate the Idaho unemployment rate is at 6.8 percent, which is nearly doubled from last year, and that is showing in the amount of unemployment benefits being issued to dislocated workers in the state.

“Every county has more unemployed workers than it did a year ago,” Madsen said.

Still, the situation is not as bad as it was in the early 1980s, when unemployment grew to 9.4 percent, he said, and the state weathered that storm.

“We think we can get through this,” he said.

It won’t come without some cost, however. According to IDL figures, last year the state paid out a little less than $250 million in unemployment insurance for all programs, and a little more than $3.6 million of that went to Payette County. As of today, Madsen said Thursday, 11 weeks into the year, the state has paid out approximately $136 million in unemployment benefits. He said, by the end of the year, $7 million in unemployment payments will likely be delivered to Payette County.

“This year we’re already half of what we were last year, which was a record year,” Madsen said.

The state’s unemployment trust fund is not expected to hold out through the rest of the year, and Madsen said it will likely run out of money by December at the latest, however, there are measures in place to make sure claimants still receive funds.

Those measures, however, mean business owners, who pay unemployment taxes to the state, can expect another increase, Madsen said, and unemployment claimants can expect a decrease in funds at the beginning of next year. About $33 million from the economic stimulus package will offset the expected debt for the IDL, and every little bit helps, Madsen said.

He ended by stating, IDL employees, however, are all working hard to help the displaced workers and there are a number of programs in place in the state to help in times like this, lending to his optimism.

Fruitland business owner Ken Bishop, who is also a City Council member, said, as an employer, he follows the news about unemployment insurance, and said at the beginning of this year employers were hit with almost double the taxes they paid last year.

“From my perspective as an employer, we knew this was coming,” he said.

Bishop said, while none of that is good news, it isn’t unexpected.

“I guess I have no worries that that system isn’t going to be available,” he said. “It’s going to cost us employers more, but I’m hopeful things come around before November or December.

Overall, Bishop said, he appreciated Madsen’s message and was interested to learn more of what programs IDL offers.

Lucinda Day, owner of Big Sky Sportswear, Fruitland, agreed the presentation was informative but didn’t like hearing unemployment insurance taxes will likely be increased again because she doesn’t need any more taxes.

“But it sounds like the unemployment has been a little better since the worst news,” she added.