Idaho Unemployment Down

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — State officials say the number of unemployed workers in Idaho has dipped below 60,000 for the first time in nearly three years. Idaho's jobless rate fell to 7.7 percent in June and 59,000 workers counted as unemployed, or about 700 fewer than the previous month. The state Department of Labor says August 2009 marked the last time Idaho had fewer than 60,000 workers without jobs. The agency says payments from Idaho's unemployment trust fund were also down last month, as fewer than 21,000 workers received $19.7 million in benefits. That's a big decrease compared to a year ago, when more than 30,000 workers received $28.8 million in June 2011. Nationwide, jobless rates fell in just 11 states and Washington D.C.