Rural Idaho residents have been staying put during the current recession, unlike during the previous recession, when they moved in large numbers to the state’s urban areas. “The length and depth of the current recession … has severely impeded the ability, and the rationale, for people to move,” Idaho’s Department of Labor reported. This according to a state analysis of the latest U.S. Census figures for city populations. Until the current downturn, Idaho had been seeing a steady migration from its rural areas to its urban ones, a trend that was even more pronounced when the state’s economy was booming. But that was when the draw of the bigger cities promised jobs. Said Labor spokesman Bob Fick, “The biggest job losses have been in the city.” You can read my full story here in today's Spokesman-Review.

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