HELENA — The state’s unemployment rate declined in January to 4.0% and remains lower than the national rate of 6.3%.
After accounting for Montana’s annual benchmarking revisions, January’s unemployment rate fell 0.2% over the month, according to Montana Department of Labor & Industry statistics.
Total employment, which includes payroll, agricultural, and self-employed workers, increased by 1,191 jobs in January in a rebound following December’s contraction.
Payroll employment added 700 jobs in January, with job gains highest in professional services and wholesale and retail trade.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 0.3% in January, driven by continued increases in gasoline prices.
The lowest jobless rate in January was 2.3% in McCone County while the highest unemployment rate was 10.2% in Glacier County.
| Unemployment Rate | Employment | ||||
| Rank | County | Current Unemployment Rate | Change over Year | Current Employment | Job Change from Last Year |
| 1 | McCone | 2.3 | -0.1 | 954 | 46 |
| 2 | Daniels | 2.4 | -0.5 | 883 | 21 |
| 3 | Liberty | 2.7 | -0.6 | 956 | 54 |
| 4 | Carter | 3.0 | 0.6 | 647 | 48 |
| 4 | Petroleum | 3.0 | -0.7 | 262 | -1 |
| 6 | Garfield | 3.1 | -0.7 | 755 | 62 |
| 6 | Golden Valley | 3.1 | -1.8 | 342 | -5 |
| 6 | Sweet Grass | 3.1 | -0.5 | 1,787 | 58 |
| 9 | Gallatin | 3.4 | 0.9 | 66,843 | -423 |
| 9 | Judith Basin | 3.4 | -1.4 | 948 | 30 |
| 9 | Powder River | 3.4 | 0.4 | 968 | 57 |
| 12 | Toole | 3.5 | 0.2 | 2,044 | 33 |
| 13 | Meagher | 3.7 | -0.3 | 1,000 | 45 |
| 14 | Chouteau | 3.9 | 0.3 | 2,346 | 32 |
| 14 | Powell | 3.9 | -0.6 | 2,705 | -57 |
| 16 | Beaverhead | 4.0 | 0.3 | 4,795 | -3 |
| 16 | Fallon | 4.0 | 1.7 | 1,559 | -75 |
| 16 | Hill | 4.0 | -0.1 | 7,032 | -243 |
| 19 | Madison | 4.1 | 0.5 | 5,064 | -260 |
| 19 | Stillwater | 4.1 | 0.3 | 5,029 | -85 |
| 19 | Treasure | 4.1 | 1.7 | 328 | 5 |
| 22 | Jefferson | 4.2 | -0.1 | 5,464 | 11 |
| 23 | Yellowstone | 4.4 | 0.6 | 76,274 | -2,426 |
| 24 | Lewis and Clark | 4.5 | 0.7 | 34,390 | -60 |
| 24 | Teton | 4.5 | -0.5 | 2,593 | 7 |
| 24 | Valley | 4.5 | 0.3 | 3,808 | -44 |
| 27 | Pondera | 4.7 | 0.9 | 2,543 | 40 |
| 28 | Cascade | 4.8 | 0.6 | 34,955 | -1,765 |
| 28 | Deer Lodge | 4.8 | 1.0 | 4,663 | -134 |
| 28 | Fergus | 4.8 | 0.0 | 5,451 | -302 |
| 31 | Custer | 4.9 | 0.7 | 5,807 | -32 |
| 31 | Dawson | 4.9 | 1.6 | 4,392 | -6 |
| 33 | Rosebud | 5.0 | 0.0 | 3,377 | -169 |
| 34 | Wibaux | 5.1 | 2.0 | 429 | -8 |
| 35 | Blaine | 5.2 | 0.4 | 2,126 | -250 |
| 35 | Carbon | 5.2 | 0.2 | 5,101 | -144 |
| 35 | Missoula | 5.2 | 1.1 | 58,207 | -3,384 |
| 38 | Richland | 5.3 | 2.1 | 5,438 | -274 |
| 39 | Lake | 5.5 | -0.3 | 12,506 | 74 |
| 39 | Sheridan | 5.5 | 2.2 | 1,700 | 34 |
| 39 | Silver Bow | 5.5 | 0.8 | 15,952 | -438 |
| 42 | Phillips | 5.7 | 0.4 | 1,792 | 25 |
| 42 | Ravalli | 5.7 | 0.5 | 19,168 | -49 |
| 42 | Roosevelt | 5.7 | 0.9 | 4,183 | -62 |
| 45 | Musselshell | 5.8 | -0.5 | 2,191 | 40 |
| 45 | Prairie | 5.8 | 0.7 | 442 | -7 |
| 47 | Broadwater | 5.9 | 0.5 | 2,390 | -52 |
| 48 | Park | 6.0 | 1.5 | 7,860 | -374 |
| 49 | Flathead | 6.5 | 0.0 | 44,604 | -132 |
| 50 | Granite | 6.7 | -1.7 | 1,519 | -81 |
| 51 | Mineral | 7.7 | -3.2 | 1,540 | -37 |
| 52 | Sanders | 8.0 | -0.4 | 4,525 | 120 |
| 53 | Wheatland | 8.3 | 2.2 | 689 | -39 |
| 54 | Big Horn | 9.1 | 1.8 | 4,420 | 102 |
| 55 | Lincoln | 9.2 | -1.1 | 6,970 | -290 |
| 56 | Glacier | 10.2 | 1.7 | 4,541 | -440 |
Reservation Unemployment Rates
| Rank | County | Current Unemployment Rate | Change over Year | Current Employment | Job Change from Last Year |
| 1 | Flathead | 5.9 | -0.2 | 12,240 | 62 |
| 2 | Fort Peck | 7.3 | 1 | 3,757 | -54 |
| 3 | Fort Belknap | 12.2 | 1.2 | 701 | -77 |
| 4 | Rocky Boy's | 12.7 | 0.1 | 1,020 | -20 |
| 5 | Northern Cheyenne | 12.8 | 0.5 | 1,199 | -28 |
| 6 | Crow Indian | 13.4 | 2.5 | 2,254 | 44 |
| 7 | Blackfeet | 13.9 | 2.2 | 3,236 | -289 |
