The Office of the Governor of the State of Montana

07/21/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/21/2026 11:26

Montana’s Unemployment Rate Falls to 3.3%

Governor's Office

HELENA, Mont. - Governor Greg Gianforte today announced Montana's unemployment rate decreased slightly to 3.3 percent in June. Montana's unemployment rate was lower than the national unemployment rate, which also declined over the month to 4.2 percent.

"Montana continues to rank in the top states with the lowest unemployment rates as business create more good-paying jobs and Montanans have more pathways to pursue a meaningful career," Gov. Gianforte said. "As our labor force grows, we will continue to support the best environment for business to keep our strong momentum."

Montana's labor force, total employment (which includes payroll, agricultural, and self - employed workers) and unemployment all declined over the month. The decline in unemployment was larger than the decline in employment. As a result, the unemployment rate ticked down slightly. The number of unemployed fell by 450 in June and total employment declined by 300 jobs. Payroll jobs declined by 1,100 jobs in June, with the largest declines in transportation, warehousing, and utilities.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in June. This decline in the all-items index was the largest one-month decrease since April 2020 when it fell 0.8 percent. Over the last 12 months, the all-items index increased 3.5 percent before seasonal adjustment. The energy index was the largest contributor to the monthly all items decrease, more than offsetting increases in other indexes including those for shelter and food. Core inflation, or the index for all items less food and energy, rose 2.6 percent over the last twelve months.

"Montana's unemployment rate has eased down slightly, signaling that more Montanans are securing jobs. This reflects ongoing hiring activity across key industries and the strengthening of Montana's workforce," said Sarah Swanson, Commissioner of Labor and Industry. "Through the Governor's 406 JOBS initiative, the Department of Labor and Industry and its partners are helping more Montanans explore career pathways and connect to the training and support they need to move into good - paying, future - focused jobs."

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** Unemployment figures are seasonally-adjusted. Seasonally-adjusted numbers remove the effects of events that follow a regular month-to-month pattern each year. These adjustments make non-seasonal patterns easier to identify. The margin of error for the unemployment rate is plus or minus 0.5 percentage points at the 90 percent confidence level. All questions relating to the calculation of unemployment rates should be directed to the Montana Department of Labor & Industry's Data and Operations Bureau at 406-444-4100.

The next Labor Market Information report, including data from July 2026, will be released on Friday, August 21.

**** INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET ****

Visit our website at www.lmi.mt.gov for additional information and analysis, including industry employment levels, background on the unemployment rate, and wage rates by occupation. Visit www.lmi.mt.gov/home/job-tracking for Montana unemployment claims and current economic data.

****** COUNTY UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ******

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana's 56 counties is provided below for your convenience. County unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 3.3%.

Unemployment Rate

Employment

Rank

County

Current Unemployment Rate

Change over Year

Current Employment

Job Change from Last Year

1

Carter

1.9

0.2

656

-35

1

Prairie

1.9

0.2

634

-108

3

Powder River

2.3

0.2

963

-15

4

Park

2.4

-0.2

11378

1009

4

Sheridan

2.4

-0.3

1650

-69

4

Treasure

2.4

0.7

359

-43

7

Beaverhead

2.5

0

4598

-103

7

Liberty

2.5

0.6

885

-25

7

Meagher

2.5

-0.1

940

-25

10

Daniels

2.7

0.6

690

-55

10

Garfield

2.7

0

602

-51

10

Sweet Grass

2.7

-0.5

1795

-9

10

Teton

2.7

-0.1

2845

-90

10

Toole

2.7

-0.1

2130

-52

10

Gallatin

2.7

0.1

76951

-76

16

Broadwater

2.8

0.1

4028

33

16

Carbon

2.8

-0.1

5566

-69

16

Custer

2.8

0.1

6179

-102

16

Fallon

2.8

0.2

1411

-23

16

Judith Basin

2.8

-0.5

947

-51

16

Wibaux

2.8

0.5

416

-11

22

Fergus

2.9

0

5745

-75

22

Jefferson

2.9

0.3

6147

20

22

Missoula

2.9

0

70499

41

25

Valley

3

0

3478

-189

26

Dawson

3.1

0.5

4056

-136

26

Lewis and Clark

3.1

0.2

36780

326

26

McCone

3.1

0.8

840

-38

26

Richland

3.1

0.4

5402

-265

26

Flathead

3.1

0

60011

-11

31

Chouteau

3.2

0.9

2647

-197

31

Golden Valley

3.2

0.5

418

-8

33

Stillwater

3.3

-0.3

4562

-53

34

Yellowstone

3.4

0.2

86636

-124

34

Cascade

3.4

0.2

37849

-457

36

Hill

3.6

0.1

6887

128

36

Phillips

3.6

0.1

1956

-111

36

Ravalli

3.6

0.2

20364

-226

39

Lake

3.7

0.1

14219

-167

40

Blaine

3.8

0.4

2466

-184

41

Deer Lodge

3.9

0.2

4264

-1

41

Mineral

3.9

0

2196

-19

41

Petroleum

3.9

0.6

247

-16

41

Powell

3.9

0.3

2442

-162

41

Silver Bow

3.9

0.3

17106

-75

46

Pondera

4.2

0.7

2327

-148

47

Sanders

4.8

-0.2

4756

-122

48

Rosebud

5

1.3

3471

-194

49

Granite

5.1

0

1288

-79

49

Roosevelt

5.1

-0.2

3528

-34

51

Glacier

5.2

0.3

6025

-46

51

Wheatland

5.2

1.2

675

-37

53

Musselshell

5.3

0.3

1831

-43

54

Lincoln

5.8

0.4

8090

-115

54

Madison

5.8

1.2

2908

-394

56

Big Horn

7

0.4

4090

-212

****** RESERVATION UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ******

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana's seven reservations is provided below. Reservation unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 3.3%. Reservation areas overlap with county areas, meaning that unemployed individuals living on a reservation will be included in both the reservation and county totals.

Unemployment Rate

Employment

Rank

Area

Current Unemployment Rate

Change over Year

Current Employment

Job Change from Last Year

1

Flathead

4.4

0

13656

-166

2

Fort Peck

6.8

-0.3

2976

-46

3

Blackfeet

6.9

0.3

4389

-48

4

Rocky Boy's

10.1

0.8

925

-15

5

Northern Cheyenne

10.8

2.2

1296

-71

6

Crow

11.2

0.6

1965

-94

7

Fort Belknap

15.1

1.1

784

-59

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The Office of the Governor of the State of Montana published this content on July 21, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 21, 2026 at 17:26 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]