Flathead County’s unemployment rate fell to 10 percent in April, 0.7 percent lower than a month prior, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
The county’s non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate has been at or above 10 percent for seven straight months. April’s mark is 2.7 percentage points lower than the same month last year. Flathead’s current rate is the seventh-highest in the state. Neighboring Lincoln and Sanders counties have the highest unemployment rates in Montana at 14.5 percent.
Meanwhile, at the state level, Montana’s jobless rate also decreased to 6.1 percent.
The Labor Department says the rate fell after holding steady the two previous months at 6.2 percent. The rate has dropped almost a full percentage point since last August.
Labor Commissioner Keith Kelly says the overall number of people employed in Montana has continued to increase for 10 straight months. He says he is confident about the state’s economic situation.
The state estimates there was an increase of 300 seasonally-adjusted payroll jobs in April.
The national unemployment rate declined slightly to 8.1 percent.
Here are the jobless rates for every county
Flathead unemployment rates by month:
April 2012: 10%
March 2012: 10.7%
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%