Montana’s Unemployment Rates Declines For Month
Montana’s unemployment rate declined in January to 4.0 percent. Montana’s rate remains lower than the national rate of 6.3 percent in January. After accounting for Montana’s annual benchmarking revisions, January’s unemployment rate fell 0.2 percent over the month.
Roosevelt County ranks 42nd in the state with an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent. Mc-Cone County ranks first with a 2.3 unemployment rate. Daniels County ranks second with a 2.4 unemployment rate. Other area counties include Valley at 4.5 percent for 24th and Richland at 5.3 percent for 38th.
“Montana’s economy is growing stronger as we work toward an end to this public health and economic pandemic,” Governor Greg Gianforte said. “The path forward is clear. We need to get our economy going again, get Montana open for business, and get Montanans back to work in good-paying jobs.”
Counties with the highest unemployment rate were Glacier at 10.2, Lincoln at 9.2 and Big Horn at 9.1.
Total employment, which includes payroll, agricultural, and self-employed workers, increased by 1,191 jobs in January in a rebound following December’s contraction. Payroll employment added 700 jobs in January, with job gains highest in professional services and wholesale and retail trade.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased by 0.3 percent in January, driven by continued increases in gasoline prices. Over the last 12 months the CPI-U has increased 1.4 percent. The index for all items less food and energy, referred to as core inflation, was unchanged 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 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.
Due to the annual benchmarking process the next Labor Situation Report for the month of February will be released March 26. The normal data release schedule of the third Friday of the month will resume in April. The annual benchmarking process re-estimates and smooths the labor market data with updated population estimates and additional data, improving data accuracy.
