HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Montana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.9 percent in January, the lowest rate in nearly a decade.
Labor Commissioner Pam Bucy says Montana added 2,700 payroll jobs in January, but with the loss of self-employed and agricultural jobs, the state lost 536 jobs. The number of private jobs increased by 3,100 but the number of public sector jobs fell by 400.
Montana’s unemployment rate was last at 3.9 percent in August 2007. It was as low as 2.9 percent in February 2007, before the recession.
The national unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point to 4.8 percent in January.
Montana’s February unemployment rate will be released on March 24.
A final analysis of 2016 numbers estimated Montana gained 6,500 jobs last year.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.