FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2015

CONTACT:
Mike Wessler, Governor’s Office, 444-9725
Annie Glover, Communications Director, Department of Labor & Industry, 444-1654
Barbara Wagner, Chief Economist, Department of Labor & Industry, 444-5474

HELENA – Montana’s unemployment rate continued its decline in December, down 0.1 percentage points to 4.2 percent. The unemployment rate has decreased by over a full percentage point during 2014. The U.S. unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate remains over a point above Montana’s rate, but has also decreased by over a full percentage point over the year.

“Montana finished 2014 with more employment growth, which will likely put the year into the history books as one of the strongest years for our economy,” Governor Steve Bullock said, “With our state’s strong economy, I remain committed to building on that strength to ensure that all Montanans feel the benefits of this growing prosperity.”

“Montana’s economy is continuing its momentum and promising a good year in 2015” said Labor Commissioner Pam Bucy. “Although we continue to monitor economic performance for any negative impacts from falling oil prices, employment growth in all other industries continues unabated. We will continue to work with businesses to recruit and develop good workers in this low unemployment environment.”

Montana’s total employment levels increased by 829 jobs over the last month, with 12,663 jobs added since last December. These preliminary numbers indicate strong job growth of 2.6 percent in 2014, placing the year in the top quartile for employment growth since 1980. Total employment estimates include payroll employment, plus agricultural and self-employed workers. Payroll employment estimates indicate a gain of 3,100 jobs over the month, with large gains in the construction industry.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) fell sharply by 0.4 percent in December due to a drop in oil and fuel prices. The gasoline index declined 9.4 percent over the month. The index for all items less food and energy, also called core inflation, was unchanged over the month.

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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 nonseasonal patterns easier to identify. The margin of error for the unemployment rate is plus or minus 0.8 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 and Industry’s Research and Analysis Bureau at 1-800-541-3904.

The next Labor Situation Report for the month of January 2015 will be released on Tuesday, March 17, 2015. Per usual, the unemployment rate release for January is issued later than other months due to the annual benchmarking process to improve estimate accuracy, completed during February. Updated, more accurate, estimates for 2014 will also be issued in March.

****** 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 annual employment data for Montana’s Indian Reservations. This month’s Economy at a Glance article features in formation on people moving to Montana.

****** 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 4.3 percent.

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