Idaho added 15,000 new jobs over the past 12 months, a growth of 2.1%. We have noticed a drop in the annual growth rate compared to 2016 but this is nothing to be concerned about. The state is at full employment and it is natural to see a slowdown in growth at this point in the economic cycle.

The Washington State economy added 79,600 new jobs over the past 12 months. This impressive growth rate—2.4%—is well above the national rate of 1.2%. However, as we anticipated in last quarter’s report, we are seeing a modest slowdown in the growth rate as the state moves closer to full employment. Expansion has taken place in all major job sectors other than Aerospace...

The State of Oregon has added 37,400 new jobs over the past 12 months, with solid gains in Construction (+11,600), Education & Health Services (+9,000), and Trade, Transportation & Utilities (+8,000) sectors. Year-over-year, employment in Oregon has risen 2.0%. In September, the state unemployment rate was 4.2%—up from 3.7% at the end of the second quarter but down from 4.9% in September 2016.

Employment growth in Washington State continues to slow as it moves closer to full employment. The state added 79,600 jobs between August 2016 and August 2017, and I still predict that we will see an additional 70,000 jobs by the end of the year. Eastern Washington has seen a pickup in employment, with 15,307 jobs added over the past 12 months.