Flathead County’s unemployment rate ticked up in November to 7.3 percent, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
The non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate increased from 6.6 percent in October. Flathead’s rate was the eighth highest in the state. Lincoln County had the highest unemployment rate at 13.5 percent. Eastern Montana’s Fallon County had the lowest at 1.5 percent.
Meanwhile, Montana’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.2 percent in November. The state’s rate has declined by half a percent over the last year. The national unemployment rate remains higher than Montana’s rate at 7.0 percent in November, down 0.3 percentage points from the prior month.
“Montana’s economy continues to perform better than the rest of the nation, steadily adding jobs for our workers,” Governor Steve Bullock said. “Strong retail sales during this holiday season will help our economy gain momentum for the next year.”
“Retailers hired more workers this holiday season than in prior years, which suggests greater confidence in our stronger economy,” said Labor Commissioner Pam Bucy.
Total employment, which includes payroll employment plus agricultural and self-employed workers, added 856 jobs in November. Although employment continues to expand in Montana during 2013, the job growth rate of 0.4 percent this year is slower than the above-average job growth of 2.2 percent during 2012.