Governor Bullock Announces Montana’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 6.4% in July

• August 21 2020

Governor Steve Bullock today announced Montana’s unemployment rate decreased for the third straight month, dropping by 0.8 percentage points to 6.4% in July. Montana’s unemployment rate is 3.8 percentage points below the national rate of 10.2% for July.

“More Montanans are returning to work and we’re continuing to provide relief to those who need it most by supporting key industries and businesses to ensure the state stays on the path toward economic recovery,” Governor Bullock said. “While Montana has the sixth lowest unemployment rate in the country due to its early efforts, this public health emergency is far from over and we must continue to prioritize the health and safety of all Montanans to ensure our economy stays on the right track.” 

Montana’s total employment growth from July 2019 to July 2020 ranks 7^th among states. In July, total employment, including both payroll workers and the self-employed, increased by 3,700 compared to June. Since April, 42,000 jobs have been added, bringing total employment to 18,000 jobs below the pre-COVID-19 recession peak.

Payroll employment increased by 3,000 jobs in July. By industry, leisure and hospitality had the largest gain in employment with 1,400 jobs, followed by education and health services with 900 jobs. Montana has added roughly 36,000 payroll jobs compared to the height of the pandemic in April. 

Prices increased by the same amount in July as in June with the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increasing by 0.6%. Nearly a quarter of the increase in prices is due to increased gasoline prices, while the index for food at home decreased by 1.1%. The index for all items less food and energy, also called core inflation, rose by 0.6%, its largest increase since January 1991.

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** Unemployment figures are seasonally-adjusted.  Seasonally-adjusted numbers remove the effects of events that follow a more or less regular month-to-month pattern each year. These adjustments make non-seasonal patterns easier to identify. The margin of error for the unemployment rate is plus or minus 0.6 percentage points at the 90 percent confidence level. All questions relating to the calculation of unemployment rates should be directed to the Montana Department of Labor & Industry’s Research and Analysis Bureau at 406-444-4100.

The next Labor Situation Report for the month of August will be released on Friday, September 18.

**** INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET ****

Visit our website at www.lmi.mt.gov for additional information and analysis, including industry employment levels, background on the unemployment rate, and wage rates by occupation. Visit www.lmi.mt.gov/home/job-tracking for Montana unemployment claims and economic data for the current recession.

****** COUNTY UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ******

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana’s 56 counties are provided below for your convenience.  County unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 6.0%. 

****** RESERVATION UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ******

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana’s seven reservations is provided below.  Reservation unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 6.0%. Reservation areas overlap with county areas, meaning that unemployed individuals living on a reservation will be included in both the reservation and county totals.