Governor Bullock Announces Montana’s Unemployment Rate Decreases to 4.9% in October

• November 20 2020

Governor Steve Bullock today announced that Montana’s unemployment rate declined to 4.9% in October, down from 5.4% in September, due to strong job growth over the month.

“As Montana’s economy continues to recover, the health of the economy depends on our ability to reduce the spread of the virus,” said Governor Bullock. “Montanans must take seriously public health measures in order to curb the spread of the virus, and to keep our businesses and schools open and workforce on the job.”

Montana’s unemployment growth remains lower than the national rate of 6.9% for October.

Montana continued to post strong job growth in October. Total employment, which includes payroll, agricultural, and self-employed workers, gained 3,700 jobs from September to October. Total employment has regained approximately 51,500 jobs since the April recession trough. Payroll employment also posted a gain of 1,200 jobs over the month. Employment growth in the leisure and hospitality sector has been the main driver of payroll employment growth over the month, adding 2,200 jobs.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) did not change in October, with energy commodities indexes decreasing while food indexes increased. The index for all items less food and energy, also called core inflation, also remained unchanged.

###

** 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 November will be released on Friday, December 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 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 4.2%. 

****** 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 4.2%. Reservation areas overlap with county areas, meaning that unemployed individuals living on a reservation will be included in both the reservation and county totals.

###