MONTANA – Montana Governor Steve Bullock today announced Montana’s
unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage points in January, down to
3.9%. The U.S. unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to
4.8% in January.
“Our economy is strong and our unemployment rate is the lowest it has
been in nearly a decade,” said Governor Bullock. “I am hopeful the
legislature will support this job growth by investing in our workers,
education, and infrastructure.”
“Montana’s economy is off to a hot start in 2017, adding 2,700 jobs,”
said Labor & Industry Commissioner Pam Bucy. “With the unemployment
rate at this level, there are opportunities for workers to find jobs
across a broad spectrum of industries.”
Payroll employment in Montana increased by 2,700 jobs over the month,
with private jobs gaining by 3,100 jobs, but public sector jobs
declining by 400. Total employment levels, which include self-employed
and agricultural workers, indicated a statistically insignificant
decline of 536 jobs over the month. Since January of last year, Montana
has added over 4,500 jobs.
Every year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics re-estimates employment and
unemployment levels over the past year to improve the accuracy of the
statistics. The newly revised estimates for 2016 are now available for
the nation and for Montana, with the county level revisions being issued
later this year. The revised estimates indicate employment growth of
roughly 6,500 jobs in 2017 compared to 2016, or 1.3%. The 2016 growth
rate was faster than the long-term average growth for Montana. The
compounding annual rate of growth for total employment in Montana since
1980 is 1%.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6%
in January, the largest inflation increase since February 2013. Sharp
increases in the price for gasoline is the primary cause for the
increase. Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U has increased by 2.5%,
which is temporarily above the 2% target set by the Federal Open Market
Committee of the Federal Reserve. The index for all items less food and
energy, also called core inflation, rose 0.3% in January.
** 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 nonseasonal
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 and Industry’s
Research and Analysis Bureau at 1-800-541-3904.