Big Sky Times

State’s labor force, total employment hit all-time high

HELENA, Mont. – Montana’s unemployment rate remained at a historic, all-time low of 2.3% for the second consecutive month, Governor Greg Gianforte announced on May 19. Total employment and labor force in Montana reached all-time highs, growing by more than 1,400 jobs and some 1,200 workers respectively.

“Montanans work hard to earn a living, own or rent a home, raise their family, and achieve the American dream,” Gov. Gianforte said. “On May 19’s jobs report continues to show our pro-jobs, pro-family, pro-business policies are working. We’ll keep advancing those policies to help hardworking Montanans prosper, keep more of what they earn, and drive our economy forward.”

For the first time ever, Montana has more than 560,000 employed workers – an increase of almost 39,000 workers since Governor Gianforte was elected. Similarly, the state’s labor force has grown by more than 28,000 workers.

Payroll jobs in Montana grew by 1,100 jobs in April, with the largest gains in manufacturing, transportation, and health care.

With just 13,029 unemployed workers across the state, the number of unemployed Montanans is at its lowest point since recordkeeping began. The number of unemployed workers has declined by more than 45% since Governor Gianforte was elected.

Unemployment in Montana has remained at or below 3.0% for 19 consecutive months under the governor’s leadership. Before the governor took office, unemployment in Montana had fallen under 3.0% only three times since recordkeeping began in 1976.

The unemployment rate for the U.S. in April changed little at 3.4%.

In April, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4% over-the-month. The index for shelter was the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, followed by increases in the index for used cars and trucks and the index for gasoline. The food index was unchanged in April for the second straight month. The 12-month change in the all-items index was 4.9%. The index for all items minus food and energy, also called core inflation, increased by 0.4% for the month, with a 5.5% increase in the year ending in April. 

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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 Data and Operations Bureau at 406-444-4100.

 

The next Labor Market Information report, including data from May 2023, will be released on Friday, June 16th.

**** 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.

 

****** 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 2.4%.

		Unemployment Rate		Employment
Rank	County	Current Unemployment Rate	Change over Year	Current Employment	Job Change from Last Year
1	McCone	1.3	-0.3	1053	57
2	Toole	1.4	-0.6	2087	42
3	Carter	1.5	-0.5	741	53
3	Daniels	1.5	-0.4	902	10
3	Fallon	1.5	-0.2	1699	49
6	Madison	1.6	-0.3	5962	370
7	Beaverhead	1.7	-0.9	5743	679
7	Sweet Grass	1.7	-0.2	1917	53
7	Gallatin	1.7	-0.2	78076	2672
10	Stillwater	1.9	-0.4	5315	-178
11	Dawson	2	-0.4	4525	-7
11	Hill	2	-0.4	7604	135
11	Lewis and Clark	2	-0.4	38298	958
11	Liberty	2	-0.2	1045	53
11	Petroleum	2	-0.8	289	12
11	Pondera	2	-0.4	2700	71
11	Richland	2	-1	5681	72
18	Golden Valley	2.1	-1.5	378	6
18	Powder River	2.1	-0.3	1049	45
18	Sheridan	2.1	-0.1	1758	12
18	Valley	2.1	-0.5	3980	54
18	Yellowstone	2.1	-0.3	83728	-1334
23	Jefferson	2.2	-0.5	6084	173
23	Musselshell	2.2	-0.4	2348	5
23	Cascade	2.2	-0.5	38806	698
26	Carbon	2.3	-0.5	5675	-21
26	Chouteau	2.3	0.2	2577	98
26	Custer	2.3	-0.1	6290	43
26	Deer Lodge	2.3	-0.2	5385	201
26	Garfield	2.3	0.1	799	14
26	Missoula	2.3	-0.4	66626	2069
32	Meagher	2.4	0.3	1028	4
32	Ravalli	2.4	-0.3	21951	743
32	Teton	2.4	-0.1	2825	55
32	Wibaux	2.4	-0.4	457	7
36	Fergus	2.5	-0.5	5871	-8
36	Rosebud	2.5	-0.9	3512	-60
38	Treasure	2.6	0.9	371	16
39	Judith Basin	2.7	0.5	1047	78
40	Lake	2.8	-0.2	13965	256
40	Park	2.8	0	9534	171
42	Silver Bow	2.9	-0.1	17334	148
43	Blaine	3	-0.2	2291	68
43	Broadwater	3	-0.2	2750	76
43	Prairie	3	0.5	524	23
43	Flathead	3	-0.2	51347	1046
47	Powell	3.1	0.4	2819	-60
47	Roosevelt	3.1	-0.7	4249	49
49	Phillips	3.6	-0.1	1851	57
50	Big Horn	3.7	-0.8	4450	-136
50	Granite	3.7	-0.8	1722	116
52	Wheatland	3.9	0	805	66
53	Mineral	4	-1.4	1796	92
54	Sanders	4.3	0	5382	144
55	Lincoln	4.9	-0.4	8383	239
56	Glacier	5.1	-0.3	5227	-6

 

****** 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 2.4%. 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	Area	Current Unemployment Rate	Change over Year	Current Employment	Job Change from Last Year
1	Flathead	3	-0.2	13737	265
2	Fort Peck	4	-0.8	3830	46
3	Crow	5.6	-1.2	2293	-67
4	Northern Cheyenne	6.5	-1.9	1232	-27
5	Blackfeet	7	-0.6	3705	2
5	Rocky Boy's	7	-0.7	1109	27
7	Fort Belknap	7.3	-0.5	754	23

Original source can be found here.