MONTANA – Governor Steve Bullock today announced that Montana’s unemployment rate has reached a 10-year low for the third straight month, decreasing by 0.1 percentage points in August to 3.3%.
“Montana’s economy continues to add jobs, benefitting from the diversity of our industries,” Governor Bullock said. “As Montana experiences low unemployment rates, my administration will continue to work with our private and public partners to expand workforce training opportunities to help businesses find the skilled workers they need in our tight labor market.”
The national unemployment rate remained steady in August at 3.7%.
Total employment, which includes agricultural, payroll and self-employed workers, indicated a gain of 846 jobs, while the labor force grew by 641. Payroll employment fell by 400 jobs over the month, but has grown by about 2,800 jobs over a three-month period. The manufacturing industry gained 300 jobs, corresponding to 1.5 % growth over the month.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.1% in August. The increase in medical care and shelter outweighed a decline in the energy index. The index for all items less food and energy, also called core inflation, rose by 0.3%. The core inflation rise was broad-based, with increases in the indexes for shelter, medical care, recreation, used cars and trucks, and airline fares.
###
** 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 2019 will be released on Friday, October 18, 2019.
**** 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.
****** 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 2.9%.
Rank |
County |
Current Unemployment Rate |
Change over Year |
Current Employment |
Job Change from Last Year |
1 |
Fallon |
1.5 |
-0.1 |
1,716 |
-57 |
2 |
Daniels |
1.6 |
0 |
863 |
-22 |
3 |
Carter |
1.7 |
-0.2 |
695 |
9 |
3 |
Gallatin |
1.7 |
-0.3 |
70,129 |
2,464 |
5 |
McCone |
1.8 |
0 |
945 |
-9 |
6 |
Chouteau |
2 |
-0.6 |
2,498 |
45 |
7 |
Dawson |
2.1 |
-0.4 |
4,474 |
2 |
7 |
Meagher |
2.1 |
-0.8 |
917 |
24 |
7 |
Powder River |
2.1 |
-0.9 |
936 |
-18 |
7 |
Sheridan |
2.1 |
0 |
1,670 |
-26 |
7 |
Wibaux |
2.1 |
-1.0 |
429 |
-14 |
12 |
Custer |
2.2 |
-0.3 |
5,832 |
-102 |
12 |
Judith Basin |
2.2 |
-0.2 |
875 |
21 |
12 |
Liberty |
2.2 |
-0.4 |
946 |
15 |
12 |
Park |
2.2 |
-0.5 |
9,425 |
293 |
16 |
Beaverhead |
2.3 |
-0.4 |
5,060 |
115 |
16 |
Garfield |
2.3 |
-0.3 |
722 |
21 |
16 |
Toole |
2.3 |
0.2 |
2,086 |
-24 |
19 |
Fergus |
2.4 |
-0.4 |
5,755 |
59 |
19 |
Sweet Grass |
2.4 |
0.2 |
1,737 |
19 |
21 |
Golden Valley |
2.5 |
-1.8 |
356 |
-1 |
21 |
Madison |
2.5 |
-0.3 |
4,368 |
78 |
23 |
Missoula |
2.6 |
-0.2 |
61,990 |
1,449 |
23 |
Phillips |
2.6 |
-0.5 |
1,863 |
9 |
23 |
Stillwater |
2.6 |
-0.3 |
4,926 |
97 |
23 |
Teton |
2.6 |
-0.3 |
2,632 |
9 |
23 |
Treasure |
2.6 |
0.2 |
334 |
2 |
28 |
Jefferson |
2.7 |
-0.8 |
5,602 |
55 |
28 |
Lewis and Clark |
2.7 |
-0.4 |
35,475 |
320 |
30 |
Carbon |
2.8 |
-0.1 |
5,335 |
-18 |
30 |
Richland |
2.8 |
0.1 |
5,647 |
-135 |
30 |
Valley |
2.8 |
0.5 |
4,045 |
-73 |
33 |
Petroleum |
2.9 |
-0.7 |
270 |
-1 |
33 |
Yellowstone |
2.9 |
-0.2 |
79,114 |
-188 |
35 |
Deer Lodge |
3 |
-0.1 |
5,104 |
-10 |
36 |
Blaine |
3.1 |
-0.6 |
2,134 |
-13 |
36 |
Cascade |
3.1 |
-0.3 |
36,486 |
285 |
36 |
Pondera |
3.1 |
-1.0 |
2,597 |
-13 |
36 |
Powell |
3.1 |
-0.4 |
2,885 |
-20 |
40 |
Broadwater |
3.2 |
-0.2 |
2,666 |
42 |
41 |
Ravalli |
3.3 |
-0.3 |
19,451 |
234 |
41 |
Wheatland |
3.3 |
-1.1 |
771 |
18 |
43 |
Musselshell |
3.4 |
-0.3 |
2,080 |
-40 |
43 |
Silver Bow |
3.4 |
-0.2 |
17,020 |
-26 |
45 |
Flathead |
3.5 |
-0.3 |
48,864 |
1,008 |
46 |
Prairie |
3.6 |
0.2 |
481 |
4 |
47 |
Granite |
3.8 |
-0.2 |
1,725 |
42 |
47 |
Lake |
3.8 |
-0.1 |
13,009 |
206 |
49 |
Hill |
4 |
0.2 |
7,231 |
-45 |
50 |
Mineral |
4.2 |
-1.6 |
1,761 |
45 |
51 |
Roosevelt |
4.3 |
-0.7 |
4,169 |
-8 |
52 |
Sanders |
4.8 |
-0.3 |
4,688 |
65 |
53 |
Lincoln |
5.5 |
-0.3 |
7,997 |
224 |
53 |
Rosebud |
5.5 |
-0.1 |
3,648 |
-79 |
55 |
Glacier |
6.4 |
-1.5 |
5,721 |
-38 |
56 |
Big Horn |
7 |
-2.9 |
4,362 |
-208 |
****** 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 2.9%. 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 |
County |
Current Unemployment Rate |
Change over Year |
Current Employment |
Job Change from Last Year |
1 |
Flathead |
4.0 |
-0.2 |
12,745 |
731 |
2 |
Fort Peck |
5.3 |
-0.8 |
3,768 |
198 |
3 |
Fort Belknap |
7.1 |
-1.1 |
704 |
50 |
4 |
Blackfeet |
8.9 |
-2.1 |
4,025 |
365 |
5 |
Crow |
10.4 |
-4.2 |
2,228 |
162 |
6 |
Rocky Boy's |
10.7 |
-0.2 |
1,061 |
129 |
7 |
Northern Cheyenne |
13.1 |
-1.2 |
1,254 |
150 |