The number of Idaho workers without jobs rose another 1,100 to a record 67,300 as employers held October hiring to the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1998 and 22 percent below 2008’s previous low for October. Total unemployment was up almost 25,000 from October 2008, when the rate was 6.6 percent.

Over $43 million in state and federal unemployment benefits was paid to a weekly average of 37,300 jobless workers during October. Half the workers signing up for benefits are exhausting their regular state allotment without finding jobs and moving onto federal benefits. At the end of June federal benefits accounted for less than 42 percent of total benefit payments in Idaho. Since then the federal share has risen to over 55 percent. Over 2,300 Idaho workers have already used up all their benefits – state and federal – and more than 100 workers a week are joining that group.

Since the year began, Idaho has paid out a record of over $547 million in state and federal jobless benefits.

With high unemployment persisting, the federal government stepped in this week to extend unemployment benefits. Although details about the new extension have yet to be released, over 20,000 idled Idaho workers could receive up to 14 additional weeks of payments. The Idaho Department of Labor will advise those who are eligible, but because specifics are still being worked out, checks under the new benefit extension will not be issued until late November.

Total employment fell another 400 from September to 686,100 in October, the lowest Idaho employment level since January 2005. Although 700 job seekers joined the labor force in October, the economy failed to produce jobs for them. Overall, the labor force has contracted by 5,500 in the last year, reflecting people dropping out because they are discouraged, returning to school to learn new skills or leaving the state.

The year-over-year loss of nonfarm jobs, which seems to have peaked in August at 7.5 percent or nearly 50,000, declined for the second straight month, slipping to 6.6 percent to 43,200 for October after dropping to 7.1 percent in September. It was the first time since Idaho began recording year-over-year job loss in April 2008 that the gap has closed in two consecutive months. But to a great extent the closing gap is the result of job loss from 2007 being so great during the final quarter of 2008 rather than the economy creating new jobs.

Except for health care, every major sector of the Idaho economy including government had fewer jobs in October than last year, and the five-county Boise metropolitan area continued to bear the brunt of the loss. The Boise area jobless rate jumped four-tenths to hit 10 percent, and nonfarm jobs in the metro area were down 8.5 percent from a year earlier, a loss of 23,000 or more than half the statewide job decline. The metro area has about 40 percent of Idaho’s jobs.  

Although Idaho’s jobless rate remained at a 26-year high, October was the fourth straight month of relative stability. The rate fluctuated between 8.8 percent and 8.9 percent while the national rate steadily climbed from 9.4 percent in July to 10.2 percent in October.

Still, October marked the first time in nine years that a county posted a rate over 20 percent. Adams County saw a three point jump last month to 20.8 percent. Fourteen other counties also recorded double-digit unemployment rates including Canyon and Kootenai, the state’s second and third largest. Six counties had double-digit rates a year ago.

The lowest rate in October was 4 percent in both Franklin and Power counties. Only 15 other counties had rates below 7 percent.

Nearly 16 million people can't find jobs even though the worst recession since the Great Depression has apparently ended. The Labor Department says the economy shed a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, less than the downwardly revised 219,000 lost in September.

But the loss of jobs exceeded economists' estimates. It's the 22nd straight month the U.S. economy has shed jobs, the longest on records dating back 70 years.

Counting those who have settled for part-time jobs or stopped looking for work, the unemployment rate would be 17.5 percent, the highest on records dating from 1994.

The jobless rate rose from 9.8 percent in September.

The move led rivals Amazon.com and Target to reduce the prices of some of their online preorder DVDs, which pushed Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to take a few more cents off its offerings.

The world's biggest retailer said late Thursday that it would lower the online prices of new DVDs such as "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" and "Star Trek" to $10.

But when Amazon reduced some of its DVD prices to $9.99, Wal-Mart shot back by lowering its DVDs to $9.98 as of Friday morning.

NAMPA -- A resource and career fair is happening in Nampa.

Many people now struggling to find a job are looking to go back to school or change careers.

Right now, the Idaho Center is a one-stop shop for information on training and volunteer opportunities.

The Resource and Career Fair is open until 8 p.m. Thursday, and continues from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday.

 Admission is free.

Producer Michael Cohl says Carney will portray celebrated web-slinger Peter Parker in "Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark."

The lavish musical is still scheduled to open sometime in 2010 at the Hilton Theatre. Dates will be announced. The show has had a troubled history, with work on the musical stopped for last summer because of financial difficulties.

"Spider-Man" reportedly has a budget of upward of $40 million, and the Hilton has undergone extensive renovation to accommodate the show. It will be directed by Julie Taymor and features a score by Bono and The Edge of U2.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday took over United Security Bank, based in Sparta, Ga., with $157 million in assets and $150 million in deposits, and Home Federal Savings Bank in Detroit, with $14.9 million in assets and $12.8 million in deposits. Ameris Bank, based in Moultrie, Ga., agreed to assume the assets and deposits of United Security, while Liberty Bank and Trust Co., based in New Orleans, is buying the assets and deposits of Home Federal Savings.

The family's statement said Baim died Friday and that he had undergone recent surgery to remove diseased tissue caused by adrenal cancer, a rare form of the disease that attacks the adrenal glands.

Baim, a former Harvard professor, most recently served as chief medical officer for Boston Scientific Corp., a manufacturer of pacemakers, defibrillators and other medical implants. He joined the company in 2006.

Previously, he was a professor at Harvard Medical School, where he establish a leading program for training interventional cardiologists.

A vote is expected on Saturday — after President Barack Obama makes a late morning trip to the Capitol to make one final pitch for the legislation.

According to Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, he and other abortion opponents will be given a chance to insert tougher abortion restrictions into the legislation during debate on the House floor.

The leadership hopes that no matter how that vote turns out, Democrats will then unite to give the health care bill a majority over unanimous Republican opposition.

Berkshire said Friday it generated $3.2 billion, or $2,087 per share, in net income. That's up significantly from last year's $1.1 billion, or $682 per share.

Most of the swing in earnings is related to unrealized gains in the value of Berkshire's derivatives, some of which are tied to credit defaults and some of which are tied to equity markets.

Berkshire's insurance companies performed well, but its other operating companies struggled.

Berkshire owns more than 60 subsidiaries and it has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.

The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that Philip Morris, Lorillard and R.J. Reynolds could stop making payments to those growers under a 1999 agreement, which stemmed from the national tobacco settlement with the states a year earlier.

The agreement says the companies could reduce their payments when Congress agreed to a buyout for quota owners in 2004.

The justices ruled the states entered the agreement knowing the payments would end as a result of a quota buyout.

Agriculture officials say farmers in Maryland and Pennsylvania would have received $22 million had a trial court ruling been upheld.

Standing in the White House Rose Garden, Obama called the new jobs report another illustration of why much more work is needed to spur business creation and consumer spending. He appeared a few hours after the government reported that the jobless rate hit 10.2 percent last month, the highest since 1983. The rate was 9.8 percent in September.

Obama noted legislation he's signing to provide additional unemployment benefits to people thrown out of work. And he said " ''I will not rest until all Americans want work can find work."

The decision Friday by a Wisconsin court means PepsiCo will get its say in court — now that it has found out about the case.

Two men claim PepsiCo violated trade secrets and stole their idea to sell bottled water. A judge sided with them and gave them a default $1.26 billion judgment last month after the company didn't respond.

PepsiCo says it didn't respond for several reasons, including the fact that a secretary who received letters relating to the case failed to act on them.

The McLean, Va.-based mortgage finance company has received about $51 billion since it was seized by federal regulators in September 2008, but avoided tapping the government for more aid for the second-straight quarter.

The quarterly loss, which works out to $1.94 per share, includes $1.3 billion in dividends paid to the Treasury Department. It compares with a loss of $25 billion, or $19.44 per share, in the year-ago period.

The results were driven by $7.6 billion in credit losses as the company continued to build its reserves for bad mortgages.

Gold prices have been rallying in recent weeks as investors fear the government's low interest rate policy will undermine the dollar and lead to inflation, even though the Federal Reserve insists inflation will be subdued for some time.

Gold is seen as a hedge against a weak dollar and inflation.

A worse-than-expected report on October job losses is affirming for investors that the Fed will have to keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future to support the economy, which will continue to weigh on the dollar.

After briefly touching $1,100, gold is up $6.40 at $1,095.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Kraft, which makes Oreo cookies, Nabisco crackers and its namesake cheese, on Tuesday told investors to keep an eye on its filings — a clue that a bid may be right around the corner.

Monday is the last day permitted for Kraft to "put up or shut up," according to U.K. regulators. If Kraft doesn't make a formal bid by then, it must walk away for six months.

Cadbury spurned Kraft's cash-and-stock offer in September. It was then worth $16.7 billion. It would now be worth less because Kraft's shares have fallen in value. Analysts expect Kraft to make an offer close to its previous bid.

The Labor Department's report Friday that unemployment has risen above 10 percent for the first time since 1983 isn't welcome news but it did reassure investors that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates lower. The pace of job losses is also slowing.

The Dow Jones industrials are up 18 at 10,023. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 3 at 1,069, while the Nasdaq composite index is up 7 at 2,112.

Major stock indicators jumped 3 percent for the week.

Advancing stocks narrowly outpaced those that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was 1.1 billion compared with 1.3 billion Thursday.

Army majors spend 10 months at the school preparing for unit command or staff positions.

A top general at the college says Perot's pledge will help the Army expand ethics training for officers and bolster cooperation between the military and government agencies such as the FBI.

The 79-year-old Perot says he made the pledge after discussing history with a class of officers at the college last month.

He says the college is doing a great job with important work.

Perot graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served four years in the Navy.

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On the Net'

Command and General Staff College Foundation' http'//www.cgscfoundation.org

BOISE -- Idaho Reps. Mike Simpson and Walt Minnick are among the congressional leaders who voted to extend unemployment benefits for nearly two million people nationwide.

The measure cleared the U.S. House Thursday on a vote of 403-12, one day after it was approved in the Senate. The bill extends benefits for 14 weeks for those who have exhausted their federal aid or are close to doing so. The bill adds another six weeks of aid in states like Idaho where unemployment rates top 8.5 percent.

Minnick, a Democrat, says the bill offers important assurances for the thousands of Idaho workers looking for new jobs.

Simpson, a Republican, also praised a section in the bill that extends the a tax credit for first time home buyers.

President Obama is expected to sign the bill Friday.

Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that 734 rigs were exploring for natural gas and 332 for oil. Twelve were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago this week, the rig count stood at 1,992.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Louisiana gained five rigs, New Mexico gained three, Arkansas and California each gained two, and Oklahoma and Colorado each gained one. Texas lost four rigs, while North Dakota lost one.

The rig count tally peaked at 4,530 in 1981, during the height of the oil boom. The industry posted a record low of 488 in 1999.