Jobless rate inches upward in Flathead Co.

Flathead County’s unemployment rate posted at 6.7 percent in January, increasing from 5.9 percent in December, the state Department of Labor and Industry said Monday.

The county has a current workforce of 42,248 people.

The jobless rate in other Northwest Montana counties also increased over the same month. Lincoln County had a 10.5 percent unemployment rate in January, compared to 9.3 percent in December. Sanders County post 9.5 percent, up from 8.1 percent the previous month. Lake County had the best employment snapshot, even though that county increased from 4.6 percent in December to 5.6 percent in January.

Meanwhile, Montana’s overall unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage points in January, down to 3.9 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 4.8 percent in January.

“Montana’s economy is off to a hot start in 2017, adding 2,700 jobs,” Labor & Industry Commissioner Pam Bucy said. “With the unemployment rate at this level, there are opportunities for workers to find jobs across a broad spectrum of industries.”

Payroll employment in Montana increased by 2,700 jobs over the month, with private jobs gaining by 3,100 jobs, but public sector jobs declining by 400. Total employment levels, which include self-employed and agricultural workers, indicated a statistically insignificant decline of 536 jobs over the month, the state labor department reported. Since January of last year, Montana has added more than 4,500 jobs.

Every year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics re-estimates employment and unemployment levels over the past year to improve the accuracy of the statistics. The newly revised estimates for 2016 are now available for the nation and for Montana, with the county level revisions being issued later this year. The revised estimates indicate employment growth of roughly 6,500 jobs in 2017 compared to 2016, or 1.3 percent. The 2016 growth rate was faster than the long-term average growth for Montana. The compounding annual rate of growth for total employment in Montana since 1980 is 1 percent.