Montana’s unemployment continues to drop, from to 4.6 percent in May to 4.5 percent in June, according to the Montana’s Department of Labor and Industry.
Flathead County saw a small increase in unemployment, from 5.6 percent to 5.7 percent, more than a percentage point above the statewide average but still below the nationwide average of 6.1 percent.
The numbers are seasonally adjusted and take into account the annual increase in agricultural employment in the summer. Along with agriculture, the leisure and hospitality sector also saw robust growth, adding 900 jobs over the past month statewide.
While the unemployment statistics have been encouraging over the past months, the report shows that real wage growth has stagnated in Northwest Montana over the past five years with an average annual growth of 0.1 percent, the lowest in the state. Eastern Montana has the highest average annual real wage growth at 2.95 percent.
One reason real wage growth has been slow is that public sector raises have failed to keep up with inflation, leading to a real wage decrease for state and federal employees. Over the past decade, business services and mining and utilities have seen the largest real wage growth and the manufacturing sector has seen virtually none.
For the full report, click here.