MONTANA – Governor Steve Bullock today announced that Montana’s unemployment rate remained level at 4.1% for the month of February. The U.S. unemployment rate also remained at 4.1%.
I'm excited and optimistic about our state's future as we head into the spring months," said Governor Bullock. "We are maintaining our fiscal strength, while working to build up our talented workforce and put more folks into good-paying jobs. This economic health sets us on the right track to continue investments in hard-working Montanans."
Both payroll and total employment levels posted insignificant changes the last month, with little changes in employment levels across most industries. There were also insignificant changes in both the labor force and unemployment rate estimates. In other words, little has changed in the Montana economy over the last month.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose by 0.2% in February, with broad-based price increases across all goods except food. 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 0.2% in February, with a change of 2.2% 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 March 2018 will be released on Friday, April 20, 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 entrepreneurialism in Montana.
****** 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 5.0%.
|
Rank |
County |
Current Unemployment Rate |
Change over Year |
Current Employment |
Job Change from Last Year |
|
1 |
McCone |
1.9 |
-0.1 |
965 |
-42 |
|
2 |
Liberty |
2.5 |
-1.3 |
927 |
1 |
|
3 |
Daniels |
2.6 |
0.0 |
862 |
-22 |
|
4 |
Fallon |
2.6 |
-0.6 |
1,628 |
-53 |
|
5 |
Gallatin |
3.1 |
0.2 |
62,036 |
1,568 |
|
6 |
Dawson |
3.3 |
-0.4 |
4,523 |
-84 |
|
6 |
Garfield |
3.3 |
0.0 |
741 |
3 |
|
6 |
Sheridan |
3.3 |
-0.1 |
1,768 |
-89 |
|
9 |
Chouteau |
3.6 |
-0.2 |
2,369 |
19 |
|
9 |
Toole |
3.6 |
0.5 |
1,979 |
-105 |
|
11 |
Powder River |
3.7 |
1.1 |
952 |
-24 |
|
12 |
Wibaux |
3.8 |
0.9 |
434 |
-35 |
|
13 |
Richland |
3.9 |
-0.4 |
5,672 |
-71 |
|
14 |
Carter |
4.0 |
1.1 |
652 |
-15 |
|
14 |
Hill |
4.0 |
0.0 |
7,572 |
130 |
|
16 |
Beaverhead |
4.1 |
0.1 |
4,788 |
21 |
|
17 |
Valley |
4.3 |
0.1 |
3,864 |
-94 |
|
17 |
Yellowstone |
4.3 |
0.4 |
77,247 |
-253 |
|
19 |
Lewis and Clark |
4.4 |
0.3 |
33,102 |
-563 |
|
19 |
Treasure |
4.4 |
0.0 |
326 |
-3 |
|
21 |
Sweet Grass |
4.5 |
0.7 |
1,701 |
19 |
|
22 |
Missoula |
4.6 |
0.3 |
59,500 |
147 |
|
23 |
Custer |
4.7 |
0.7 |
5,807 |
-112 |
|
24 |
Cascade |
4.8 |
0.7 |
35,970 |
-115 |
|
24 |
Madison |
4.8 |
0.6 |
4,529 |
-101 |
|
24 |
Pondera |
4.8 |
0.5 |
2,573 |
-95 |
|
24 |
Teton |
4.8 |
-0.4 |
2,586 |
-68 |
|
28 |
Carbon |
4.9 |
0.5 |
5,103 |
-39 |
|
28 |
Deer Lodge |
4.9 |
0.8 |
4,779 |
10 |
|
28 |
Meagher |
4.9 |
-0.1 |
896 |
21 |
|
31 |
Jefferson |
5.1 |
-0.2 |
5,256 |
-94 |
|
31 |
Stillwater |
5.1 |
0.5 |
4,582 |
14 |
|
33 |
Roosevelt |
5.2 |
0.4 |
4,321 |
-3 |
|
34 |
Park |
5.3 |
0.4 |
7,932 |
125 |
|
34 |
Silver Bow |
5.3 |
0.4 |
16,061 |
20 |
|
36 |
Judith Basin |
5.4 |
2.0 |
874 |
-16 |
|
37 |
Blaine |
5.5 |
0.6 |
2,230 |
-8 |
|
37 |
Broadwater |
5.5 |
-0.1 |
2,404 |
21 |
|
39 |
Prairie |
5.6 |
0.8 |
453 |
-28 |
|
40 |
Lake |
5.7 |
0.2 |
12,507 |
292 |
|
41 |
Petroleum |
5.8 |
-1.0 |
259 |
0 |
|
42 |
Fergus |
5.9 |
0.2 |
5,373 |
-100 |
|
42 |
Musselshell |
5.9 |
0.9 |
2,171 |
24 |
|
42 |
Ravalli |
5.9 |
0.0 |
18,672 |
302 |
|
45 |
Powell |
6.2 |
0.7 |
2,631 |
-40 |
|
46 |
Flathead |
6.6 |
-0.1 |
43,387 |
1,033 |
|
47 |
Wheatland |
6.8 |
1.6 |
722 |
-12 |
|
48 |
Rosebud |
6.9 |
1.2 |
3,683 |
-110 |
|
49 |
Golden Valley |
7.1 |
0.8 |
351 |
-5 |
|
50 |
Phillips |
7.3 |
1.0 |
1,765 |
-11 |
|
51 |
Granite |
7.7 |
1.0 |
1,556 |
45 |
|
52 |
Sanders |
9.2 |
0.0 |
4,344 |
82 |
|
53 |
Glacier |
9.4 |
0.3 |
4,936 |
-54 |
|
54 |
Lincoln |
11.0 |
0.4 |
6,891 |
-6 |
|
55 |
Mineral |
11.2 |
1.8 |
1,465 |
-47 |
|
56 |
Big Horn |
12.1 |
-1.6 |
4,702 |
-81 |
****** 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 5.0%. 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 |
|
Rate |
|||||
|
1 |
Flathead |
6.1 |
0.2 |
12,224 |
275 |
|
2 |
Fort Peck |
6.6 |
0.3 |
3,875 |
-15 |
|
3 |
Rocky Boy's |
12.4 |
-0.3 |
1,078 |
16 |
|
4 |
Blackfeet |
13.0 |
0.5 |
3,501 |
-44 |
|
5 |
Fort Belknap |
13.3 |
1.4 |
732 |
-4 |
|
6 |
Northern Cheyenne |
17.1 |
1.6 |
1,296 |
-33 |
|
7 |
Crow |
17.7 |
-2.1 |
2,375 |
-39 |
