Montana reaches four years of unemployment rate below 3.4%

Micah Drew

(Daily Montanan) With a June unemployment rate of 2.8%, unchanged from last month, Montana has now seen nine straight years of rates under 3%, and four years below 3.4%.

The governor’s office and Department of Labor and Industry continue to laud the low seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, as it had only dropped below 3% on three occasions since the rate started being measured in the 1970s.

The statewide rate is a full 1.3% below the U.S. average for June.

“With more Montanans working now than ever before and historically low unemployment, we’re seeing the results of our pro-jobs policies,” Gov. Gianforte said. “This month marks a new record stretch of four years of low unemployment and reinforces Montana’s reputation as one of the nation’s best places to live, work, and raise a family.”

Gianforte first took office in January 2021, a month that saw unemployment at 4% statewide — down from a COVID-pandemic high of 11.9% in April 2020, but higher than pre-pandemic numbers. Unemployment dropped for nine consecutive months, and has remained below 3.4% since July 2021.

The state said the labor force in Montana decreased by 752 workers last month. Data shows the state has lost 500 jobs during the month with losses in retail and wholesale trade, private education, healthcare, administrative and support services, and federal government employment.

Fifty of the state’s counties currently have unemployment rates below 4%, but only six of them have seen net job gains during the last year year, according to data from the Department of Labor and Industry.

All of the state’s five metropolitan statistical areas — Bozeman, Helena, Missoula, Billings and Great Falls — have unemployment rates below 2.8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.