Governor Bullock Announces Montana’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.1% in June

• July 17 2020

MONTANA -- Governor Steve Bullock today announced Montana's unemployment rate dropped 1.9 percentage points to 7.1% in June. Montana's unemployment rate has steadily iproved since April and is well below the national rate of 11.1% for June. 

“With nearly 21,000 more Montanans returning to work last month, it’s clear our early efforts put Montana on a path toward economic recovery,” Governor Bullock said. “As cases rise again in Montana and threaten our health and the economic progress we’ve made thus far, we must recommit to working together to fight this virus by wearing a mask and taking other precautions to protect vulnerable Montanans, avoid overwhelming our healthcare system, and support businesses as they try to keep their doors open.”

Montana has the 8th lowest unemployment rate in the country. 

Total employment, which includes both payroll workers and the self-employed, increased by 20,992 over the month, setting a record for the most jobs gained in any single month since the data series began in 1976. Total employment has added over 39,000 jobs in the last two months, but employment levels remain roughly 21,000 jobs (4%) below the pre-COVID-19 recession peak.

Payroll employment posted gains of 16,100 jobs over the month, with the leisure and hospitality sector leading gains by adding 5,800 jobs over the month. Healthcare and retail trade also added over 2,000 jobs each. Montana has added roughly 35,000 payroll jobs since April.

Prices rebounded in June, with the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increasing by 0.6% after three months of price declines. Gasoline prices were the primary cause of inflation, increasing by 12.3% over the month. The index for all items less food and energy, also called core inflation, rose by 0.2%, remaining far below inflation targets. Low inflation suggests continued monetary and fiscal policy would not have adverse effects on prices.

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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 1.0 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 July will be released on Friday, August 21.

**** 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. County unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 7.0%. 

****** 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 7.0%. 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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