Montana’s unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent in October, according to the latest labor data released by the state Nov. 20.
The state’s unemployment rate is tied for 13th lowest in the nation with Kansas. The overall U.S. unemployment rate declined slightly by one-tenth of a percent over the month to 5 percent in October.
“Montana’s economy continued to show strength as we entered the fall,” Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said. “With over 10,000 jobs added over the last 12 months, Montanans are on the job and earning higher wages.”
Flathead County’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate increased from 4.4 percent in September to 5 percent in October. The county has added 855 jobs since last year, according to state data.
Lake County’s jobless rate was 4.4 percent last month. The county has added 142 jobs in the past year.
Lincoln County’s unemployment rate rose from 7.3 percent to 7.6 percent, third highest in the state, and has added 21 jobs in 12 months.
Mineral County had the highest jobless rate in Montana at 8.4 percent, followed by Glacier County (8.2 percent). Sanders County ranked fourth highest at 7 percent.
Seasonally-adjusted numbers remove the effects of events that follow a more or less regular month-to-month pattern each year. These adjustments make nonseasonal 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.
Statewide, both total employment and payroll employment levels showed little change over the month. Payroll employment indicated 700 jobs gained over the month, with a few job losses in mining and strong gains in construction. Total employment estimates, which include agricultural and self-employed workers along with payroll workers, indicate a statistically insignificant gain of 102 jobs.
According to the state labor department, employment growth during 2015 remains quite strong, with a 2.1 percent increase in employment over the last year compared to the long-term average of about 1 percent.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent in October, marking the end of a two-month price slide. Both food and energy indexes increased slightly. The index for all items less food and energy (also called core inflation) rose 0.2 percent in September.