Montana’s Unemployment Rate Remains at Record Lows

• March 28 2025

HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today announced Montana’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.8 percent in February, continuing the record of 44 consecutive months of unemployment at or below 3.4 percent.

“Montana's economy is strong, adding 3,000 new jobs and reaching a record high labor force of nearly 580,000 in 2024,” Governor Gianforte said. “Powered by the steadfast Montana work ethic and our tax cuts, our economy will remain strong as our businesses grow and create more good-paying jobs.”

Montana’s unemployment rate was 1.3 percent lower than the national unemployment rate, which was 4.1 percent in February.

Total employment (which includes payroll, agricultural, and self-employed workers) decreased slightly in February. Payroll jobs decreased by 2,500 in February with employment declining in the construction industry and government.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in February. The index for shelter rose 0.3 percent in February, accounting for nearly half of the monthly all items increase. Over the last 12 months, the all-items index rose 2.8% with core inflation rising 3.1%. The index for all items minus food and energy, or core inflation, rose 0.2 percent in February.

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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 March 2025, will be released on Friday, April 18th.

**** 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. Visitwww.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 3.4%.

****** 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 3.4%. 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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