Montana Unemployment Maintains Historic Low

Montana's unemployment rate remained at a historic, all-time low of 2.3 percent 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. "Today'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 record keeping began. The number of unemployed workers has declined by more than 45 percent since Governor Gianforte was elected.

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

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

In April, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4 percent 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 percent. The index for all items minus food and energy, also called core inflation, increased by 0.4 percent for the month, with a 5.5 percent increase in the year ending in April.

The unadjusted statewide employment rate is 2.4 percent, and this percentage is used when comparing county unemployment rates and employment levels, as these are not seasonally adjusted. Valley County is at 2.1 percent unemployment rate while surrounding counties Phillips is at 3.6 percent and Roosevelt is sitting at 3.1 percent, Garfield County is sitting at 2.3 percent and Daniels County is at 1.5 percent.

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

Visit our website at http://www.lmi.mt.gov for additional information and analysis, including industry employment levels, background on the unemployment rate, and wage rates by occupation. Visit http://www.lmi.mt.gov/home/job-tracking for Montana unemployment claims and current economic data.