Jobless rate up in Flathead County

Flathead County’s unemployment rate worsened in January, posting at 6.8 percent, compared to 5.6 percent in December 2017.

Neighboring counties also saw an increase in jobless numbers, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. Lincoln County jumped from 8.7 percent to 11 percent unemployment, while Sanders County also reached double-digit unemployment in January, reporting 10.2 percent, compared to 7.8 percent in December.

Lake County posted 5.9 percent in January, up from 4.6 percent in December.

Montana’s unemployment rate remained level at 4.1 percent for the month of January. The U.S. unemployment rate also remained at 4.1 percent.

Both payroll and total employment levels remained steady over the last month, with small gains in construction offset by small losses in other industries.

In addition, the Department of Labor and Industry has released revised and updated statewide unemployment and employment growth numbers for the previous five years.

Unemployment rate and employment estimates are revised each year in February in a process called benchmarking, which typically results in more accurate estimates and a smoother data series. Updated estimates suggest employment growth of 0.9 percent for 2017, or roughly 4,300 jobs. This employment growth rate is slightly slower than in previous years, but paired with continued output growth, simply reinforces that Montana businesses are struggling to find sufficient workers to support growth.