Sep. 20—Montana’s unemployment rate was at 2.9% in August, according to state Department of Labor and Industry statistics.
The state’s jobless rate has fallen under 3% for the last 11 months.
Montana’s unemployment rate was 1.4% lower than the national unemployment rate, which was 4.3% in August. Montana remained in the top five states in the nation with the lowest unemployment rates.
Flathead County’s jobless rate remained unchanged at 2.7%, ranked 29th of the state’s 56 counties. Missoula County’s rate was also 2.7%.
Lincoln County in far Northwest Montana was ranked 55th with a rate of 4.6%, while Big Horn County had the highest rate in the state at 5.7%.
Total employment, which includes payroll, agricultural and self-employed workers, increased slightly in August. Payroll jobs remained unchanged over the month, following the addition of 1,200 jobs in July. The transportation, accommodation and food service industries have added the most jobs over the last three months, offsetting declines in education, manufacturing and federal government employment.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in August. The index for shelter rose 0.4% in August, the primary factor for the monthly all items increase. Over the last 12 months, the all-items index rose 2.9% with core inflation rising 3.1%. The index for all items minus food and energy, or core inflation, rose 0.3% in August.