Jobless rate dips to 8.3 percent

Flathead County’s unemployment rate improved slightly in February, posting at 8.3 percent compared to 9 percent in January.

The county had a work force of 43,815 people last month with 3,649 unemployed workers.

Job conditions in neighboring counties improved a little, too. Lincoln County had a 16.5 percent unemployment rate in February, down from 18 percent in January. Nevertheless, Lincoln County had the highest unemployment rate of any Montana county last month.

Sanders County improved, moving from 16.1 percent in January to 14.7 percent in February.

Lake County’s unemployment rate decreased from 9 to 8.6 percent.

Statewide, strong employment growth in February resulted in a drop in Montana’s unemployment rate, from 5.3 to 5.1 percent.

“With nearly 5,000 jobs added in the first two months alone, Montana working families have great opportunities in 2014,” Labor Commissioner Pam Bucy said in a press release. “The Department of Labor and Industry continues our work to update worker skills for new job openings to supply a top-notch labor force for Montana employers.”

February posted large gains in both employment and the labor force. Total employment, which includes payroll employment plus agricultural and self-employed workers, added 3,090 jobs in February – one of the largest over-the-month job gains in the history of the data series.

The Montana labor force also increased by 2,480 workers, which is also a large increase compared to other months. Payroll employment estimates signal smaller job growth of 400 jobs, with small employment changes across most industries.