Nov. 7--No other community in south-central Idaho has been hit harder by the recession than Shoshone, where the unemployment rate surpassed 14 percent in October.

Blame it on Blaine County, say local and state officials.

That's because one in five people in Shoshone work in the beleaguered tourism, real estate and construction industries in Blaine County.

"Those three sectors are getting hammered by the economy," said Doug Brown, executive director of the Wood River Economic Partnership "That is a reality we can't change quickly."

Construction in the posh resort towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley came to a screeching halt earlier this year when credit markets froze and the housing market was flooded with sales of vacation homes.

Many specialty shops that had been filled with tourists during the ski season are now shuttered -- victims of declining tourism.

The unemployment rate in Blaine County more than doubled from 5.1 percent in October 2008 to 10.7 percent last month, according to Idaho Department of Labor.

But Shoshone's 1,400 residents are feeling the brunt of the downturn.

Lincoln County's unemployment rate jumped from 7 percent to 14.3 percent, and many suspect the actual rate is much higher.

The crux of the problem is that Blaine County had most of its eggs in all the wrong baskets during the recession -- something that local economic development officials are trying to change.

"We're adapting long-term strategies to rebalance our economy, so we're not so heavily reliant on a couple of sectors," said Brown.

He said the economic development organization Go Blaine is working to leverage the Sun Valley brand, diversify tourism, foster entrepreneurism, create mixed-use development opportunities and attract educational opportunities.

Twin Falls and

Cassia counties

Unemployment declined slightly in Twin Falls and Cassia counties, according to Idaho Department of Labor.

The unemployment rate in the Twin Falls area, which includes surrounding communities, was unchanged at 7 percent from September through October.

The Burley micropolitan area reported a healthy decline in unemployment from 6.9 percent to 5.5 percent -- largely due to food processors ramping up seasonal production.

Jerome and Gooding counties both saw a slight increase of less than one percentage point to about 7 percent unemployment.

SUBHED:The State of Idaho

Idaho's unemployment rate edged up a tenth of a point to 8.9 percent in October.

More than $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.

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

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.

SUBHED:The rest of the nation

The national unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent in October, the highest since early 1983, dealing a psychological blow to Americans as they prepare holiday shopping lists.

President Barack Obama called it "a sobering number that underscores the economic challenges that lie ahead." He signed a measure to extend unemployment benefits and extended a tax credit for first-time homebuyers.

Economists did not expect the 10 percent mark to come so quickly and immediately darkened their forecasts.

Unemployment at 11 percent would be a post-World War II record. Only once since then has unemployment hit double digits in the United States -- from September 1982 to July 1983, topping out at 10.8 percent.

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