Governor Bullock announces Montana unemployment rate steady in 2017

— December 22 2017

MONTANA – Governor Steve Bullock today announced Montana’s unemployment rate was 4.0% for the month of November, maintaining the same relative level for most of 2017. The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 4.1%.

“Montana workers and families are heading into the holidays with a strong economy driving growth in local communities across the state,” said Governor Bullock. “Our wage growth continues to outpace inflation and businesses are hiring for good-paying jobs, making job opportunities plentiful.”

Payroll job levels remained fairly steady over the month, adding a few hundred jobs in the private sector offset by continued small losses in government jobs. Over the last three months, Montana has added about 1,400 payroll jobs. Total employment (which includes payroll jobs plus the self-employed and agricultural workers) remained fairly level over the month on a seasonally adjusted basis. Based on the data posted so far, Montana is expected to finish 2017 with employment growth of 0.8%, and wage growth nearly double last year’s pace^.*

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose by 0.4% in November, led by a large increase in the price of gasoline and other energy. Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U has increased by 2.2%. The index for all items less food and energy, also called core inflation, increased 0.1% in November, with a change of 1.7% over the last year.

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** Unemployment figures are seasonally-adjusted. Seasonally-adjusted numbers remove the effects of events that follow a more or less regular month-to-month pattern each year. These adjustments make nonseasonal patterns easier to identify. The margin of error for the unemployment rate is plus or minus 0.5 percentage points at the 90 percent confidence level. All questions relating to the calculation of unemployment rates should be directed to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry’s Research and Analysis Bureau at 1-800-541-3904.

The next Labor Situation Report for the month of December 2017 will be released on Friday, January 19, 2018.

****** INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET ******

Visit our website at www.lmi.mt.gov for additional information and analysis, including industry employment levels, background on the unemployment rate, and wage rates by occupation. This month’s Economy at a Glance examines how Montana’s industries have contributed to our economic growth over the last ten year.

****** COUNTY UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ******

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana’s 56 counties is provided below for your convenience. County unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 4.1%.

Rank	County	Current Rate	Change over Year	Current Employment	Job Change from Last Year
1	Carter	2.1	-0.3	707	20
2	McCone	2.2	-0.1	950	-25
3	Daniels	2.4	0.1	902	-9
3	Powder River	2.4	0.0	1,036	1
5	Fallon	2.5	-0.1	1,629	-102
5	Liberty	2.5	-0.3	929	0
7	Sheridan	2.7	0.1	1,825	-73
8	Garfield	2.8	-0.2	717	4
8	Valley	2.8	-0.1	4,277	-4
10	Custer	2.9	0.3	5,948	-237
10	Dawson	2.9	-0.3	4,346	-149
10	Toole	2.9	-0.4	2,080	-67
13	Chouteau	3.0	-0.2	2,417	-28
13	Prairie	3.0	0.0	514	3
13	Treasure	3.0	-0.6	321	-5
16	Beaverhead	3.1	0.1	4,940	18
16	Pondera	3.1	-0.7	2,707	-28
18	Wibaux	3.2	0.1	488	-12
19	Gallatin	3.3	0.2	62,210	1,271
19	Lewis and Clark	3.3	0.3	34,444	-455
19	Sweet Grass	3.3	0.6	1,684	-21
22	Yellowstone	3.4	0.2	79,408	-193
23	Missoula	3.5	0.1	60,258	-75
23	Richland	3.5	-0.3	5,455	-458
25	Carbon	3.8	0.4	5,244	-19
25	Deer Lodge	3.8	0.1	5,135	-30
25	Hill	3.8	0.0	7,552	-62
28	Cascade	3.9	0.4	36,648	-548
28	Judith Basin	3.9	0.6	916	-1
28	Petroleum	3.9	-1.4	247	-4
28	Roosevelt	3.9	-0.2	4,293	-184
28	Teton	3.9	0.2	2,619	-70
33	Fergus	4.0	0.8	5,593	-72
34	Blaine	4.1	0.3	2,183	-45
35	Jefferson	4.2	0.2	5,430	-65
35	Stillwater	4.2	0.7	4,488	-154
37	Lake	4.3	0.0	12,584	60
38	Powell	4.4	-0.4	2,731	-44
38	Silver Bow	4.4	0.8	16,529	-263
40	Broadwater	4.5	0.4	2,425	-20
40	Ravalli	4.5	0.3	18,874	4
42	Meagher	4.7	0.5	867	-3
42	Phillips	4.7	0.6	1,729	-57
44	Golden Valley	4.8	1.1	359	-1
45	Park	4.9	0.4	7,839	-9
46	Madison	5.0	0.6	3,723	64
46	Wheatland	5.0	0.7	768	-6
48	Musselshell	5.3	1.3	2,130	-65
48	Rosebud	5.3	0.7	3,775	-80
50	Flathead	5.4	-0.1	42,943	-100
51	Granite	5.8	-0.2	1,419	15
52	Sanders	7.2	0.3	4,284	-62
53	Glacier	7.9	0.2	4,878	-196
53	Mineral	7.9	0.8	1,485	-42
55	Lincoln	8.0	-0.5	7,210	-56
56	Big Horn	12.2	7.0	5,201	-11

****** RESERVATION UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ******

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana’s seven reservations is provided below. Reservation unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 4.1%. Reservation areas overlap with county areas, meaning that unemployed individuals living on a reservation will be included in both the reservation and county totals.

Rank	Reservation	Current Unemployment	Change over Year	Current Employment	Job Change from Last Year
Rank	Reservation	Rate	Change over Year	Current Employment	Job Change from Last Year
1	Flathead	4.6	0.0	12,287	41
2	Fort Peck	5.0	-0.2	3,894	-150
3	Fort Belknap	9.8	0.9	718	-15
4	Blackfeet	10.8	0.1	3,474	-133
5	Rocky Boy's	11.4	-0.2	1,082	-11
6	Northern Cheyenne	14.2	3.4	1,366	-19
7	Crow	17.9	9.8	2,608	-5

*Based on employment growth in the Current Employment Statistics through November, and employment and wage growth through 2017 2^nd quarter from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

Governor Bullock announces Montana unemployment rate steady in 2017

Contact Jessica Nelson: Public Information Officer, Department of Labor and Industry