Montana has Fifth Best Unemployment Rate Recovery in U.S.

According to a press release from Montana Governor Steve Bullock’s office, Montana’s unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent in August, which is well below the national average of 8.4 percent.

Montana’s unemployment rate seems to be dropping,” said Gonzalez. “These numbers are from August and we get them about a month or so after the last month, so in Montana right now the unemployment rate is at about 5.2%. And that's very close to what it was before the pandemic.

In addition, the financial website Wallet Hub has praised Montana for having the 5^th best unemployment rate recovery in the nation.

Analyst Jill Gonzalez provided details.

“Montana’s unemployment rate seems to be dropping,” said Gonzalez. “These numbers are from August and we get them about a month or so after the last month, so in Montana right now the unemployment rate is at about 5.2%. And that's very close to what it was before the pandemic. So obviously, many states are not in that position.”

Gonzalez said the types of businesses and industry in Montana can recover more quickly than in other states.

“It really comes down to the industries there that are simply less affected by the pandemic,” she said. “So less so when we're talking about things like heavily reliant on tourism, like say a Nevada or a Florida, but still doing very poorly, or on the hospitality industry and more so dependent on things like agriculture or manufacturing as well, so those ate the things that are still keeping the state afloat.”

She said Montana’s kind of tourism is more open and visitor friendly than other states.

“You go to say, a Florida or Nevada or in New York, and you're very much clustered together and hotels going to restaurants that may or may not be open yet, or at least they're not open to full capacity,” she said. “Whereas in Montana, your camping tourism, or the road trip tourism is actually thriving right now. So that's also helpful.”

August total employment levels were 713 jobs higher than July. Total employment includes payroll, agricultural, and self-employed workers. Payroll employment increased by 400 jobs in August. The largest gains in payroll jobs occurred in federal government employment due to hiring for the U.S. Census.

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