Governor Bullock Announces Montana’s Unemployment Rate Falls to 3.6%

  • — September 21 2018

MONTANA – Governor Steve Bullock today announced that Montana’s unemployment rate dropped for the fifth straight month, down to 3.6% for the month of August. The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.9%.

“It’s a great time to be a worker in Montana. Household income is growing faster than any state in the country, and we lead the nation in middle-class growth,” said Governor Bullock. “Over the last six years we’ve made significant progress in creating opportunities for businesses, employees, and communities to grow and thrive. Our strong economy reflects that work.”

Payroll employment posted a gain of 700 jobs in August, with 600 of those jobs in the private sector. Total employment, which includes agricultural and self-employed workers in addition to payroll employment, added 400 jobs.

In addition, Governor Bullock shared yesterday that Montana had the fastest growing median household income among states from 2016 to 2017, driven by higher wages and more entrepreneurial activity.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 0.2% in August with price increases in shelter and energy. Gasoline prices increased 3% over the last month. Over the last year, the energy index has increased by 10.2%. The index for all items less food and energy, also called core inflation, increased 0.1% in August, with a change of 2.2% over-the- 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 non-seasonal 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 & Industry’s Research and Analysis Bureau at 406-444-4100.

The next Labor Situation Report for the month of September 2018 will be released on Friday, October 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 discusses employment projections 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 3.2%.

       

Rank

County

Current Unemployment

Rate

Change

over Year

Current

Employment

Job Change

from Last Year

1

Daniels County

1.6

-0.8

888

-7

2

Fallon County

1.6

-0.7

1,660

-118

3

Carter County

1.7

-0.7

697

-3

4

McCone County

1.8

-0.4

949

-40

5

Gallatin County

1.9

-0.3

67,093

1,810

5

Sheridan County

1.9

-0.2

1,783

-100

7

Sweet Grass County

2.0

-1.0

1,779

7

8

Toole County

2.1

-1.0

2,027

-113

9

Judith Basin County

2.3

-1.3

833

-12

9

Valley County

2.3

-0.5

4,064

-87

11

Treasure County

2.4

-2.2

321

-10

12

Chouteau County

2.5

-0.6

2,417

-59

12

Custer County

2.5

-0.4

5,839

-151

15

Beaverhead County

2.6

0.1

5,030

-47

15

Dawson County

2.6

-0.3

4,363

-155

15

Garfield County

2.6

-0.2

759

-3

15

Park County

2.6

-0.3

9,115

208

15

Powder River County

2.6

0.4

985

-9

20

Fergus County

2.7

-0.3

5,576

-122

20

Madison County

2.7

-0.6

4,169

66

22

Missoula County

2.8

-0.5

59,816

-11

22

Teton County

2.8

-0.6

2,592

-85

24

Carbon County

2.9

-0.4

5,214

-56

24

Richland County

2.9

-0.4

5,468

-381

24

Stillwater County

2.9

-0.6

4,651

-56

27

Meagher County

3.0

-1.0

853

-20

27

Phillips County

3.0

-0.6

1,781

-24

27

Yellowstone County

3.0

-0.4

78,762

-597

30

Deer Lodge County

3.1

-0.1

5,014

-138

30

Lewis and Clark County

3.1

-0.1

34,052

-636

31

Cascade County

3.3

-0.3

36,057

8

31

Jefferson County

3.3

-0.4

5,423

-146

31

Powell County

3.3

0.0

2,797

-79

31

Yellowstone County

3.3

-0.2

79,045

-80

35

Broadwater County

3.5

-0.5

2,506

-5

35

Hill County

3.5

-0.4

7,563

31

35

Ravalli County

3.5

-0.6

19,266

280

38

Blaine County

3.6

-0.1

2,171

-55

38

Flathead County

3.6

-0.5

48,224

943

38

Silver Bow County

3.6

-0.2

16,865

-101

41

Musselshell County

3.8

0.0

2,199

-49

41

Phillips County

3.8

-0.2

1,789

-51

41

Wibaux County

3.8

0.2

458

-47

44

Lake County

3.9

-0.2

13,245

405

45

Golden Valley County

4.0

0.4

364

-8

45

Pondera County

4.0

0.1

2,582

-88

45

Wheatland County

4.0

0.3

744

-27

48

Granite County

4.2

-0.6

1,621

-7

49

Prairie County

4.3

1.2

471

-31

50

Roosevelt County

4.8

-0.5

4,349

-28

51

Rosebud County

5.0

-0.3

3,693

-92

51

Sanders County

5.0

-0.3

4,612

47

53

Mineral County

6.0

0.2

1,612

-47

54

Lincoln County

6.1

-1.1

7,435

-39

55

Glacier County

7.7

-0.2

5,497

-158

56

Big Horn County

8.9

-4.8

4,704

-27

****** 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 3.2%. 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

4.1

-0.2

12,928

369

2

Fort Peck

5.9

-0.6

3,920

-34

3

Fort Belknap

8.5

-0.2

715

-18

4

Rocky Boy's

10.3

-1.5

1,081

-6

5

Blackfeet

10.7

-0.2

3,874

-113

6

Northern Cheyenne

12.8

-2.1

1,298

-23

7

Crow

13.3

-6.5

2,381

-13

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