Flathead County’s unemployment rate fell precipitously to 10.7 percent in February, decreasing 0.8 percentage points from a month earlier, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
The county’s nonseasonally adjusted jobless rate has surpassed 10 percent for the last five months but has consistently been lower than in 2011. February’s mark is 2.5 percentage points lower than the same month a year prior. Flathead’s current rate is the seventh-highest in the state. Neighboring Lincoln County has the highest unemployment rate in Montana at 16.6 percent.
Meanwhile, at the state level, Montana’s jobless rate continues to fall.
The Labor Department says Montana’s unemployment rate fell three-tenths of a point to 6.2 percent in February.
The drop marks seven straight months of decreases since August.
The national employment rate held at 8.3 percent in February.
Labor Commissioner Keith Kelly says the Montana economy added more than 1,000 jobs in the last month.
Here are the jobless rates for every county.
Flathead unemployment rates by month:
February 2012: 10.7%
January 2012: 11.5%
December 2011: 10.6%
November 2011: 10.6%
October 2011: 10.9%
September 2011: 9.9%
August 2011: 10.2%
July 2011: 10.4%
June 2011: 11.4%
May 2011: 11.2%
April 2011: 12.7%
March 2011: 13.1%
February 2011: 13.2 %