Montana’s Unemployment Rate Remains at 3.6%

• May 06 2026

HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today announced Montana’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6 percent in March for the fifth straight month. Montana’s unemployment rate was lower than the national unemployment rate, which declined slightly to 4.3 percent.

“While the unemployment rate remained unchanged in March, we remain committed to ensuring that every Montanan has a pathway to a career and a plan to achieve it,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Looking at six high-demand industries, from hospitality to healthcare to education, we’re reducing barriers to employment to increase labor participation.”

Montana's labor force, total employment (which includes payroll, agricultural, and self‑employed workers), and unemployment all declined over the month. As a result, the state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged. The labor force declined by 1,875 workers in the first quarter of 2026. Payroll jobs also declined in the first quarter by 1,000 jobs, with the largest declines in professional and business services, and accommodation and food services.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in March. Over the last twelve months, the all items index increased 3.3 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for energy rose 10.9 percent in March, led by a 21.2 percent increase in the index for gasoline which accounted for nearly three quarters of the monthly all items increase. Core inflation, or the index for all items less food and energy, rose 2.6 percent over the last twelve months. 

In August 2025, the Montana Department of Labor & Industry released a report showing that more than 100,000 working age Montanans are not employed and not seeking work. Through Gov. Gianforte’s 406 JOBS Initiative, the statewide workforce system is reducing barriers to work and helping Montanans enter or re-enter the labor force with a specific focus on health care, construction, hospitality and recreation, advanced manufacturing and computing, education and child care, and financial and professional services.

“Thousands of Montanans are building skills, changing careers, and finding pathways to work,” said Sarah Swanson, Commissioner of Labor and Industry. “Through the 406 JOBS initiative, we’re working with employers and educators in key industries like health care, construction, and advanced manufacturing to open more doors to training and good-paying jobs across the state.”

More information on 406 JOBS can be viewed here.

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** Unemployment figures are seasonally-adjusted. Seasonally-adjusted numbers remove the effects of events that follow a 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 0.5 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 Data and Operations Bureau at 406-444-4100.

The next Labor Market Information report, including data from April 2026, will be released on Friday, May 22.

**** 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 current economic data.

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

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana’s 56 counties is 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 4.0%.

****** 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 4.0%. Reservation areas overlap with county areas, meaning that unemployed individuals living on a reservation will be included in both the reservation and county totals.

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