HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today announced both the number of Montanans working and the size of Montana’s labor force grew to new all-time highs in August, according to data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Montana Department of Labor & Industry.
“Hardworking Montanans are fueling our strong economy, which grew at the seventh fastest rate in the country last year,” Gov. Gianforte said. “With more Montanans working than ever before, business owners are filling positions in key industries like health care, construction and manufacturing.”
Since Gov. Gianforte was elected in November 2020, nearly 32,000 jobs have been created in Montana.
Montana's total employment hit a record high in August, growing by 610 workers with more than 551,000 Montanans employed. August marks the 28th consecutive month of employment growth in Montana.
The state’s labor force continued its record growth in August, adding 1,361 workers and exceeding 567,000 Montanans for the first time ever. August marks the 8th consecutive month of labor force growth.
Montana’s labor force participation rate also continues to grow, reaching 62.7% in August. As in the previous three months, growth in the labor force slightly exceeded employment growth, leading to a slight increase in the state’s unemployment rate to 2.8%.
Inflation and rising prices continue to hammer Montana consumers, as the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1% over-the-month while the 12-month change in the CPI-U remains high with an 9.6% increase over-the-year in the Mountain West. Inflation over the last 12 months ticked down slightly in August to 8.3%.
According to BLS, between August 2021 and August 2022, gas prices increased nationally by 25.6%, energy services prices by 19.8%, grocery prices by 13.5%, baby food prices by 12.6%, infants’ and toddlers’ apparel prices by 8.6%, airfare prices by 33.4%, and new vehicle prices by 10.1%.
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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 Market Information report including data from September 2022 will be released on Friday, October 21.
****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. Visit www.lmi.mt.gov/home/job-tracking for Montana unemployment claims and current economic data.
