Thanks to a surge in hiring, Idaho’s unemployment rate in December was the lowest its been in five years. The last time the rate hit 5.7 percent was in October of 2008. Initial numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate 3,800 Idahoan found work in December, the largest single month increase in 20 years.

This puts the states unemployment rate a full percentage point below the national figure, which sits at 6.7 percent.

As the states unemployment rolls have become shorter, the amount of money paid out in unemployment insurance has fell, as well. December saw $14.1 million in state and federal benefits paid out, down nearly 40 percent from the 21.4 million paid out a year earlier. December was also the last month for extended employment insurance offered by the federal government.

Even though the economic picture has improved, the percentage of Idahoans over 16 in the labor force remained at a 32 year low for the third straight month. This is in part due to the trend of the baby boom generation beginning to leave the workplace. Even though the state as whole saw unemployment fall, ten counties counties actually saw their rates rise.

Of the counties that saw improvement, 26 counties now have jobless rates below six percent. That includes Teton County, where the rate is now at 4.7 percent.

This article appeared in the Teton Valley News on January 30, 2014.