Flathead jobless rate improves

Flathead County’s unemployment rate continued to improve in July, posting at 3.6 percent, compared to 4.2 percent in June.

The county has a current workforce of 48,224 people, and had 943 more workers than the same time last year, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.

Surrounding counties also improved their jobless rate. Lincoln county had 6.1 percent unemployment in July, compared to 6.7 percent in June. Sanders County improved from 5.4 to 5 percent. Lake County slipped slightly, from 3.9 percent in June to 3.9 percent in July.

Montana’s unemployment rate dropped again for the third straight month, down to 3.7 percent for the month of July. The U.S. unemployment rate was at 3.9 percent in July.

Payroll employment posted a gain of 900 jobs in July, for a total of 3,400 jobs added statewide in the last three months. Local government again posted the largest over-the-month growth, with the administrative support industry also posting a large increase.