Montana’s Unemployment Rate Remains Near Historic Low

Montana's Unemployment Rate Remains Near Historic Low

Nearly 41,000 jobs created since January 2021

• April 19 2024

HELENA, Mont. - Today, Governor Greg Gianforte announced that Montana's unemployment rate was 3.3% in March as employment levels increased.

"Montana's economy is thriving thanks to our pro-jobs, pro-business policies," Gov. Gianforte said. "While we continue to battle inflation, many businesses are hiring and providing good paying jobs. Our administration will continue to develop workforce opportunities so every Montanan has a chance to fulfill the American dream."

Since Gov. Gianforte took office in January 2021, nearly 41,000 jobs have been created in Montana. Under his leadership, total employment reached an all-time high in December.

Montana's unemployment rate of 3.3% remains below the national rate of 3.8%.

In March, total employment in Montana increased by 480 workers, while the labor force fell by about 150 workers. Payroll employment increased by 1,700 jobs with the strongest job gains in the healthcare and construction industries.

In March, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4% over-the-month. Increases in the shelter index and the gasoline index comprised over half of the monthly increase. The 12-month change in the all-items index was 3.5%. The index for all items minus food and energy, or core inflation, rose 0.4% in March.

According to the U.S. Joint Economic Committee, President Joe Biden's inflation tax has driven up costs for Montana households by 21.6% since he took office, making it harder for Montanans to make ends meet. Hardworking Montanans are paying about $1,110 more per month today for the things they need than when Biden took office.

In the last year, Biden's inflation has forced hardworking Montanans to pay 6% more for housing, 22% more for car insurance, 12% more for car repairs, and 10% more for baby food, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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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.

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.

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 3.3%.

	Unemployment Rate	Employment
Rank	County	Current Unemployment Rate	Change over Year	Current Employment	Job Change from Last Year
1	Carter	1.7	-0.1	714	15
1	Fallon	1.7	-0.1	1600	-14
3	Liberty	1.8	-0.3	1053	40
4	Daniels	2	0.1	872	-9
5	Powder River	2.1	-1.1	1027	22
6	McCone	2.2	0.1	1000	-2
6	Gallatin	2.2	0.1	79194	1370
8	Sweet Grass	2.3	0	1886	25
8	Treasure	2.3	-0.2	341	-10
10	Hill	2.4	0.2	7430	-94
10	Stillwater	2.4	-0.1	5242	-36
12	Beaverhead	2.5	-0.1	4944	-232
12	Dawson	2.5	0.1	4207	-51
12	Sheridan	2.5	-0.3	1715	8
15	Prairie	2.6	-0.5	668	-11
15	Toole	2.6	0.8	2013	-86
17	Chouteau	2.8	-0.1	2465	-42
17	Lewis and Clark	2.8	0.1	37556	9
17	Yellowstone	2.8	0.2	85629	241
20	Carbon	2.9	0.1	5754	17
20	Deer Lodge	2.9	-0.3	5277	-36
20	Madison	2.9	-0.1	5080	520
20	Meagher	2.9	0	1041	-16
20	Richland	2.9	0.5	5423	-144
25	Custer	3	-0.5	6153	102
25	Valley	3	-0.1	3813	-21
27	Judith Basin	3.1	0	981	-11
27	Teton	3.1	0	2730	-28
27	Cascade	3.1	0.1	38308	10
30	Jefferson	3.3	0.3	5946	-4
30	Musselshell	3.3	0.2	2347	15
30	Rosebud	3.3	0	3439	19
30	Missoula	3.3	0.3	66643	-275
34	Pondera	3.4	0.8	2656	-14
34	Ravalli	3.4	0.1	21717	199
36	Park	3.5	-0.4	9965	806
36	Wibaux	3.5	1.5	415	-16
38	Fergus	3.7	0.1	5596	-56
39	Broadwater	3.8	-0.3	2766	66
39	Golden Valley	3.8	0.7	377	0
39	Powell	3.8	0.2	2765	-83
39	Silver Bow	3.8	0	17335	94
43	Blaine	4.1	-0.1	2145	-51
43	Petroleum	4.1	1	279	0
43	Roosevelt	4.1	0	4075	-102
46	Garfield	4.3	-0.3	750	21
46	Lake	4.3	0.4	13839	275
46	Flathead	4.3	0.3	51861	1109
49	Big Horn	4.8	-0.1	4339	-86
50	Granite	5	-0.1	1689	57
50	Phillips	5	0.1	1696	-61
52	Wheatland	5.5	0.5	750	10
53	Glacier	5.7	-0.7	5349	236
54	Sanders	6.8	0.7	5194	52
55	Mineral	7.1	0.5	1734	6
56	Lincoln	7.5	0.7	8096	72

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 3.3%. 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	4.6	0.4	13591	251
2	Fort Peck	5.3	0.1	3672	-83
3	Crow	7.2	-0.1	2247	-39
4	Blackfeet	8	-0.8	3782	155
5	Northern Cheyenne	8.2	-0.1	1205	-3
6	Rocky Boy's	8.3	0.1	1076	-15
7	Fort Belknap	9.8	-0.3	705	-17

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