Governor Bullock Announces Montana’s Unemployment Rate at 11.3% in April

  • — May 22 2020

Governor Steve Bullock today announced Montana’s unemployment rate was at 11.3% in April due to impacts created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Montana unemployment rate remains below the national rate of 14.7% in April.

“Montana took early and aggressive action to combat the virus and save lives, allowing us to be one of the first states in the nation prepared to reopen,” Governor Bullock said. “While we are not immune to the significant economic challenges facing the nation, we are working every day to safely reopen and ensure Montana stays on a path to long-term economic recovery. There is still a lot of work to do, and we are dedicated to maintaining a healthy workforce, while continuing to provide immediate economic relief for Montana families and businesses who are hurting.”

Montana’s unemployment rate for the month of April was captured on April 12 during the stay at home order. Total employment, which includes agricultural, payroll, and self-employed workers, decreased by 55,766 jobs in April. Since the unemployment rate was calculated in April, a significant number of Montanans are returning to work. Nearly 18,000 Montanans have already returned to work since the state began reopening.

DLI has issued $376 million in unemployment benefits since March 16 to ensure Montanans can continue to provide for their families during the emergency.

Montana was among the first states in the nation to begin processing claims for those who are self-employed. The Montana Department of Labor & Industry has worked diligently to process an unprecedented number of unemployment insurance claims and implement new programs issued by the federal government to provide an extra $600 a week benefit, to extend the length of time individuals can receive benefits, and offering unemployment insurance for self-employed and other individuals typically not eligible for benefits.

Leisure activities, which includes hotels, restaurants, movie theaters, and other entertainment and recreation businesses, was the hardest hit, with losses approaching nearly half of their total employment and exceeding 32,000 jobs. All industries posted losses except the federal government.

The most up-to-date claims and economic information, including county impacts, can be found at DLI’s job tracking website at lmi.mt.gov/home/job-tracking.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) fell 0.8% in April , with the sharpest decrease in gasoline prices. Prices for apparel, airline fares, lodging away from home, and vehicle insurance also contributed to the decline. The index for all items less food and energy, also called core inflation, fell by 0.4%.

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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 0.6 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 May will be released on Friday, June 19.

**** 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 11.9%.

Rank

County

Current Unemployment Rate

Change over Year

Current Employment

Job Change from Last Year

1

Liberty

2.8

0.8

918

-31

2

McCone

3

1.4

871

-57

2

Petroleum

3

0.1

255

-15

4

Carter

3.2

0.3

606

-5

5

Daniels

4.3

2.9

799

-71

6

Garfield

4.4

2.8

689

-35

7

Treasure

4.6

1.9

310

-15

8

Powder River

5.3

3.6

879

-43

9

Blaine

5.4

2.2

2,225

-190

10

Fallon

5.9

4.4

1,483

-178

11

Chouteau

6

3.6

2,214

-145

12

Prairie

6.2

2.8

411

-43

13

Golden Valley

6.8

2.7

328

-24

13

Sweet Grass

6.8

4

1,588

-125

15

Teton

6.9

3.8

2,431

-223

16

Beaverhead

7.2

4.3

4,395

-499

17

Dawson

7.3

5.2

3,919

-603

18

Judith Basin

7.4

4.6

951

59

18

Pondera

7.4

3.7

2,331

-232

20

Valley

7.5

4.7

3,525

-385

21

Rosebud

7.7

3

3,238

-367

22

Phillips

7.8

3.9

1,665

-148

23

Meagher

7.9

4.5

833

-85

24

Roosevelt

8

3.3

3,730

-592

25

Toole

8.1

6.3

1,821

-232

26

Custer

8.3

5.7

5,127

-724

26

Madison

8.3

5.8

4,497

-460

28

Fergus

8.4

5.6

5,088

-822

28

Sheridan

8.4

6.6

1,546

-174

30

Hill

8.7

5.4

6,432

-876

31

Stillwater

9.4

6.4

4,685

-277

32

Jefferson

9.5

6.4

4,842

-626

33

Musselshell

9.6

5.9

1,933

-249

34

Lake

9.7

5.7

11,221

-1,268

35

Powell

10.2

6.1

2,455

-339

36

Deer Lodge

10.5

7.3

4,265

-602

36

Wibaux

10.5

7.4

394

-42

38

Big Horn

10.6

3

3,896

-621

39

Lewis and Clark

10.7

8

30,309

-4,196

39

Ravalli

10.7

6.8

17,330

-1,982

41

Yellowstone

11.1

8.2

70,945

-8,324

42

Broadwater

11.2

7.4

2,182

-260

43

Richland

11.3

8.7

4,856

-790

44

Cascade

12.1

9

32,481

-4,313

44

Wheatland

12.1

9.1

717

-34

46

Gallatin

12.3

10.2

58,770

-6,817

47

Carbon

12.4

9.1

4,813

-478

48

Glacier

13

5.4

4,507

-535

49

Missoula

13.1

10

56,316

-5,316

50

Sanders

13.8

7.5

4,062

-440

51

Silver Bow

13.9

10.2

14,254

-2,197

52

Granite

16.4

10

1,434

-155

53

Flathead

16.6

11.6

39,811

-4,811

54

Park

16.9

13.5

7,493

-839

55

Mineral

18.3

12.7

1,441

-203

56

Lincoln

18.5

10.8

6,459

-892

****** 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 11.9%. 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

10.3

6

11,012

-1,234

2

Fort Peck

10.5

4.8

3,364

-515

3

Fort Belknap

13.3

5.6

729

-62

4

Crow

15.8

4.4

1,994

-310

5

Blackfeet

17.8

7.3

3,195

-376

6

North Cheyenne

18.2

6.4

1,115

-144

7

Rocky Boy's

22.8

12.9

942

-108

Contact Sam Loveridge: Public Information Officer, Department of Labor and Industry
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