October unemployment rate remains at 3.3%

HELENA, MT – Governor Greg Gianforte on Nov 19th, announced Montana’s unemployment rate reached its 40th consecutive month of unemployment at or below 3.4%. In October, Montana’s unemployment rate was 3.3%, while the national rate was 4.1%. 

“Since 2020, Montanans have consistently said they want pro-jobs, pro-family, pro-business policies,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Working with the legislature, we’ve delivered. We must build on our momentum by help hardworking taxpayers keep more of what they earn, recruit new investment, and create more good-paying jobs so that every Montanan can reach the American dream.”

The state’s historic stretch of low unemployment continues to break records. The next closest stretch was during 2006 and 2007, when the state’s unemployment rate remained at or below 3.4% for 15 months.

Total employment increased slightly in October. Montana has added over 11,000 payroll jobs since January, led by growth in the healthcare, retail trade, and construction industries. In a recent report, the Montana Department of Labor and Industry announced that under Gov. Gianforte’s leadership, Montana’s labor force reached a record high of 580,000 people in 2023, with more than 10,000 Montanans entering the labor force last year alone. 

October marked the fourth consecutive month that consumer prices rose 0.2% as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The all-items index rose 2.6% for the 12 months ending in October. Core inflation, or the index for all-items less food and energy, rose 0.3% in October for a 12-month increase of 3.3.%. The indexes for shelter rose 0.4% contributed to more than 50% of October's monthly all items increase.

** 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 November 2024, will be released on Friday, December 20^th. 

**** 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 2.5%. 

****** 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 2.5%. Reservation areas overlap with county areas, meaning that unemployed individuals living on a reservation will be included in both the reservation and county totals.