Flathead County’s unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent in July – a decrease of 0.9 percentage points from a month earlier – according to the latest labor statistics.
The county’s non-seasonally adjusted jobless has now fallen for six straight months and July’s number is 1.8 percentage points lower than a year ago.
Montana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent in July, down 0.1 percentage point from June.
Labor Commissioner Pam Bucy said that Montana employers are feeling more confident in the state’s economy. However, she says the decline in the unemployment rate was due to nearly 1,000 Montanans leaving the labor force. People may leave the labor force when they retire, to meet family responsibilities, to go to school or when they stop looking for work.
Payroll employment added about 900 jobs in July, with gains in the leisure and hospitality sector. Construction employment remains fairly stable while government employment continues to decline.
Total employment estimates, which also include the self-employed, indicate a small decline of 700 jobs.
The national unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in July.
Lincoln County’s unemployment rate was 12.5 percent, the second highest in the state behind only Big Horn, 14.6 percent.
Click here to view the county unemployment rates for July.
Flathead unemployment rates by month:
July 2013: 6.1%
June 2013: 7%
May 2013: 7%
April 2013: 8.4%
March 2013: 9.4%
February 2013: 9.8%
January 2013: 10.6%
December 2012: 9.1%
November 2012: 9%
October 2012: 8.3%
September 2012: 7.4%
August 2012: 7.9%
July 2012: 7.9%