Gov. Gianforte announces unemployment rate remains near record lows

HELENA, MT - Governor Greg Gianforte today announced Montana has the third lowest unemployment rate in the nation, behind South Dakota and North Dakota.

Montana’s unemployment rate remained unchanged and near its record low at 2.7 percent in April, continuing the historic 46 consecutive months of unemployment at or below 3.4 percent and 7 consecutive months below 3 percent.

“With more Montanans working than ever before, we're continuing our historic stretch of near record low unemployment and leading the nation with the third lowest rate,” Governor Gianforte said. “As we work to put more money back in the pockets of hardworking Montanans through our historic tax cuts, our economy continues to grow as businesses create more good-paying jobs.”

Montana’s unemployment rate was 1.5 percent lower than the national unemployment rate, which was 4.2 percent in April.

Total employment (which includes payroll, agricultural, and self-employed workers) decreased slightly in April. Payroll jobs decreased by 400 with employment with growth in professional services, healthcare, retail trade, and transportation, and declines in the construction, accommodation, and food service industries.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in April. The index for shelter rose 0.3 percent in April, accounting for nearly half of the monthly all items increase. Over the last 12 months, the all-items index rose 2.3% with core inflation rising 2.8%. The index for all items minus food and energy, or core inflation, rose 0.2 percent in April.