Idaho tops U.S. in finding jobs for low-income workers who receive training

Idaho led the nation in finding jobs for low-income adult workers between mid-2006 and mid-2007. Under Idaho’s program, 299 of the 310 low-income adults who received training, 96.5 percent, secured employment, the Idaho Department of Labor said in a release. Arkansas placed second with 92 percent. The national average was 78.2 percent.

Nine of 10 Idaho low-income adults placed in jobs remained on the job nine months later. That ranked fourth nationally. The national job retention rate was 83.5 percent

The Idaho Department of Labor’s Workforce Investment Act program also placed near the top in other key measures of its effectiveness in helping low income youth and adults and workers who have lost their jobs through plant closures and downsizing, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Idaho’s decision to streamline the administration of these training programs by eliminating over $1 million in regional expenditures two years ago continues to pay dividends, Dwight Johnson, administrator of the Idaho Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Division, said. “Despite the dramatic erosion of federal financial support for this assistance, hundreds of Idaho workers and young people are getting the help that will enable them to have a better life,” he said.

Idaho’s job placement success came during a period of record low unemployment in the state and despite federal funding reductions of more than half for the specialized job training program to under $7 million in just four years, the state agency said.

Idaho placed 94.1 percent of its dislocated workers - 491 of 522 to receive assistance - to rank second to Puerto Rico at 94.7 percent. The national average placement rate was 83 percent.

Idaho’s 84.1 percent rate for either finding jobs or an educational program for low-income youth also ranked second nationally, behind the District of Columbia. The national average was just over 60 percent.

Of the 329 placed in educational programs in Idaho, 247, or 75.1 percent, received a degree or certificate, the sixth highest percentage in the country. The U.S. average was just over 44 percent.