<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Segoe UI";
panose-1:2 11 5 2 4 2 4 2 2 3;}
/* Style Definitions */
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing
{mso-style-priority:1;
margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
p.paragraph, li.paragraph, div.paragraph
{mso-style-name:paragraph;
margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.eop
{mso-style-name:eop;}
span.normaltextrun
{mso-style-name:normaltextrun;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span class="eop"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black;background:white"><img width="625" height="147" style="width:6.5069in;height:1.5347in" id="_x0000_i1025" src="cid:image001.png@01D88264.298A4E60" alt="Graphical user interface, text
Description automatically generated"></span><span class="eop"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<br>
</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<span class="eop"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="paragraph" style="background:white"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:black">June 17, 2022</span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><u><span style="font-size:22.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Idaho leads in unemployment, rolls out historic tax rebates<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Boise, Idaho – While Idahoans are paying more for everything - gas, food, cars, energy, and everything in between - the State of Idaho is seeing headway on several of Governor
Brad Little's initiatives. Idaho is in the middle of deploying historic tax relief, getting people to work, and making landmark infrastructure investments to lower tax burdens on property taxpayers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">"Right now, Idaho families are forced to pay more for food, gas, and everyday goods as inflation swells to a 40-year high under President Biden’s watch,"
</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Governor Brad Little said.<b> "Thankfully, here in Idaho we're deploying both immediate and ongoing tax relief to working families and keeping our economy strong so people can continue
to work and keep more of what they earn. We're also making historic investments in roads, schools, water, and other infrastructure to lower the burden on property taxpayers to cover these needs."<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">The Bureau of Labor Statistics released state unemployment data for the month of May today, revealing that Republican-led states continue to hold their rank as the states
with the lowest unemployment rates. Idaho's May unemployment rate fell to a new historic low of 2.5-percent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">In addition, Idaho has deployed 571,000 income tax rebates to households so far this year, totaling $190 million. The average rebate totals $333 per household. The Legislature
approved $350 million in immediate tax rebates this year as part of Governor Little’s "Leading Idaho" plan, so hundreds of thousands more households will receive their checks before the end of 2022. The plan also included ongoing tax relief so Idahoans will
be able to keep more of what they earn in the years ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Of the 600,000 tax rebate checks issued, two have been donated back to the state for government services.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Local governments also will receive new record funding for roads, schools, water as part of the Governor's Leading Idaho plan, minimizing the potential for cities and counties
to ask local property taxpayers to cover the infrastructure needs of Idaho's growing communities as they craft their budgets over the summer and fall.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">12 of the top 15 states with the lowest unemployment rates in May were all led by Republican governors including, including Idaho.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">10 of the 15 states with the highest unemployment rates in May were led by Democrat governors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">More than three times as many GOP-led states (22) are below the national average for unemployment than Democrat-led states (7).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"># # #<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Please DO NOT REPLY to this message. For press inquiries only, contact the Governor’s press office at (208) 854-3015 or e-mail
</span></i><a href="mailto:Madison.Hardy@gov.idaho.gov"><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">Madison.Hardy@gov.idaho.gov</span></i></a><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">.
<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">To unsubscribe from these announcements, send an e-mail to
</span></i><a href="news@gov.idaho.gov"><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif">news@gov.idaho.gov</span></i></a><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>