MONTANA – Governor Steve
Bullock today announced Montana’s unemployment rate continued its downward
trend in August, dropping by 0.9 percentage points to 5.6%. Montana’s
unemployment rate is well below the national rate of 8.4% for
August.
“Montana continues to outperform
the national economy in our economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,”
Governor
Steve Bullock said
. “If we continue to come together to fight this virus, we
can keep Montana’s workers and business owners healthy and safe and further our
economic recovery.”
Montana
has the 7th lowest unemployment rate in the nation. August total employment
levels were 713 jobs higher than July. Total employment includes payroll,
agricultural, and self-employed workers. Payroll employment increased by 400
jobs in August. The largest gains in payroll jobs occurred in federal
government employment due to hiring for the U.S. Census.
The
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 0.4% in
August with a broad-based increase in prices across all goods. The index for
all items less food and energy, also called core inflation, rose by 0.4%.
Although these metrics suggest inflation is higher than in the past year, the
increase in the all items less food and energy has increased by only 1.7% over
the last twelve months, remaining below the Federal Reserve’s inflation target.
Inflation below the target suggests accommodative monetary policy will continue
in the upcoming months.
###
** 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 September will be released on Tuesday, October 20.
**** 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 economic data for the current recession.
****** 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
5.2%.
|
|
Unemployment Rate
|
Employment
|
|
Rank
|
County
|
Current Unemployment Rate
|
Change over Year
|
Current Employment
|
Job Change from Last Year
|
|
1
|
Garfield
|
1.5
|
-0.9
|
659
|
-69
|
|
2
|
Powder
River
|
1.9
|
-0.1
|
898
|
-54
|
|
3
|
Daniels
|
2.3
|
0.8
|
839
|
-63
|
|
4
|
Liberty
|
2.4
|
0.1
|
884
|
-43
|
|
5
|
Petroleum
|
2.7
|
-0.2
|
252
|
-19
|
|
6
|
Carter
|
2.8
|
0.9
|
635
|
-32
|
|
7
|
Sweet
Grass
|
3
|
0.5
|
1,697
|
-65
|
|
8
|
Beaverhead
|
3.4
|
1
|
4,791
|
-216
|
|
8
|
Fergus
|
3.4
|
1
|
5,359
|
-720
|
|
10
|
Powell
|
3.5
|
0.3
|
2,726
|
-242
|
|
11
|
Chouteau
|
3.6
|
1.5
|
2,349
|
-106
|
|
11
|
Madison
|
3.6
|
1
|
4,252
|
-358
|
|
13
|
Teton
|
3.8
|
1.1
|
2,541
|
-147
|
|
14
|
Golden
Valley
|
3.9
|
1.7
|
345
|
-12
|
|
15
|
Valley
|
4
|
1.1
|
3,797
|
-224
|
|
16
|
Gallatin
|
4.1
|
2.3
|
67,852
|
-1,986
|
|
16
|
McCone
|
4.1
|
2.2
|
847
|
-86
|
|
16
|
Meagher
|
4.1
|
1.8
|
857
|
-28
|
|
16
|
Treasure
|
4.1
|
1.1
|
306
|
-22
|
|
20
|
Deer
Lodge
|
4.3
|
1.1
|
4,728
|
-249
|
|
21
|
Fallon
|
4.4
|
3.1
|
1,623
|
-155
|
|
22
|
Custer
|
4.5
|
2.2
|
5,727
|
-184
|
|
22
|
Phillips
|
4.5
|
1.8
|
1,713
|
-111
|
|
24
|
Jefferson
|
4.6
|
1.8
|
5,351
|
-280
|
|
24
|
Lewis
and Clark
|
4.6
|
1.7
|
33,852
|
-1,671
|
|
26
|
Sheridan
|
4.7
|
2.7
|
1,657
|
-48
|
|
27
|
Blaine
|
4.8
|
1.8
|
2,057
|
-391
|
|
27
|
Judith
Basin
|
4.8
|
2.6
|
881
|
-39
|
|
29
|
Ravalli
|
4.9
|
1.5
|
19,070
|
-598
|
|
29
|
Yellowstone
|
4.9
|
1.8
|
78,888
|
-831
|
|
31
|
Carbon
|
5
|
2.1
|
5,255
|
-85
|
|
31
|
Stillwater
|
5
|
2.3
|
5,004
|
-95
|
|
31
|
Wibaux
|
5
|
2.9
|
420
|
-42
|
|
34
|
Hill
|
5.2
|
1.1
|
6,894
|
-493
|
|
34
|
Rosebud
|
5.2
|
-0.3
|
3,353
|
-414
|
|
36
|
Broadwater
|
5.3
|
1.8
|
2,437
|
-115
|
|
36
|
Cascade
|
5.3
|
2
|
36,239
|
-91
|
|
38
|
Missoula
|
5.4
|
2.6
|
62,254
|
442
|
|
38
|
Park
|
5.4
|
3
|
8,940
|
-325
|
|
40
|
Toole
|
5.6
|
3.2
|
1,938
|
-166
|
|
41
|
Granite
|
5.7
|
1.4
|
1,533
|
-115
|
|
41
|
Lake
|
5.7
|
1.7
|
12,581
|
-194
|
|
43
|
Musselshell
|
5.8
|
2.3
|
2,076
|
-99
|
|
43
|
Pondera
|
5.8
|
2.5
|
2,390
|
-173
|
|
45
|
Wheatland
|
5.9
|
2.3
|
702
|
-70
|
|
46
|
Flathead
|
6.1
|
2.3
|
46,611
|
-1,397
|
|
47
|
Sanders
|
6.3
|
1.3
|
4,624
|
-101
|
|
48
|
Silver
Bow
|
6.4
|
2.8
|
15,926
|
-1,061
|
|
49
|
Roosevelt
|
6.6
|
2.3
|
3,954
|
-323
|
|
50
|
Dawson
|
6.9
|
4.8
|
4,206
|
-315
|
|
51
|
Big
Horn
|
7.1
|
-0.1
|
4,253
|
-223
|
|
52
|
Mineral
|
7.4
|
2.8
|
1,638
|
-103
|
|
53
|
Richland
|
7.6
|
4.9
|
5,429
|
-500
|
|
54
|
Lincoln
|
7.8
|
1.8
|
7,459
|
-322
|
|
55
|
Prairie
|
8.2
|
4.3
|
415
|
-50
|
|
56
|
Glacier
|
9.9
|
3.3
|
5,480
|
-336
|
****** 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
5.2%. Reservation areas overlap with county areas,
meaning that unemployed individuals living on a reservation will be included in
both the reservation and county totals.
|
|
Unemployment Rate
|
Employment
|
|
Rank
|
County
|
Current Unemployment Rate
|
Change over Year
|
Current Employment
|
Job Change from Last Year
|
|
1
|
Flathead
|
6
|
1.8
|
12,354
|
-187
|
|
2
|
Fort
Peck
|
8.1
|
2.7
|
3,572
|
-281
|
|
3
|
Crow
|
10.7
|
0
|
2,181
|
-105
|
|
4
|
Fort
Belknap
|
10.8
|
4.2
|
677
|
-126
|
|
5
|
Northern
Cheyenne
|
12.6
|
-0.6
|
1,176
|
-116
|
|
6
|
Blackfeet
|
13.7
|
4.5
|
3,846
|
-239
|
|
7
|
Rocky
Boy's
|
14.7
|
3.6
|
1,007
|
-64
|