HELENA — Montana’s unemployment rate declined to 4.4% in December, down from 4.6% in November.
Montana’s rate remains lower than the national rate of 6.7% in December.
Carter County saw the lowest jobless rate at 2.5% while Glacier County had the highest unemployment rate at 8.2%
Payroll employment added 400 jobs over the last month, with job gains in construction, retail trade, and healthcare.
Total employment, which includes payroll, agricultural, and self-employed workers, fell by 1,180 jobs in December, the first contraction since April.
Total employment gains for the fourth quarter remained strong, adding roughly 4,800 jobs. The labor force contracted by 2,382 in December.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 0.4% in December, led by a large increase in gasoline prices.
The index for all items less food and energy, referred to as core inflation, increased by 0.1%.
| Rank | County | Current Unemployment Rate | Change over Year | Current Employment | Job Change from Last Year |
| 1 | Carter | 2.5 | 0.5 | 670 | 23 |
| 2 | McCone | 2.7 | 0.5 | 929 | -24 |
| 3 | Daniels | 2.9 | 0.4 | 882 | -1 |
| 3 | Liberty | 2.9 | 0.5 | 978 | 26 |
| 5 | Garfield | 3.0 | -0.4 | 749 | 11 |
| 5 | Powell | 3.0 | -0.4 | 2,792 | -115 |
| 5 | Treasure | 3.0 | 0.6 | 321 | -10 |
| 8 | Sweet Grass | 3.1 | 0.3 | 1,776 | 11 |
| 9 | Powder River | 3.2 | 0.8 | 953 | 1 |
| 10 | Gallatin | 3.3 | 0.9 | 67,069 | -27 |
| 11 | Chouteau | 3.4 | 0.2 | 2,463 | 35 |
| 12 | Beaverhead | 3.5 | 0.2 | 4,859 | 16 |
| 12 | Golden Valley | 3.5 | 0.0 | 354 | -1 |
| 12 | Meagher | 3.5 | 0.0 | 985 | 18 |
| 15 | Judith Basin | 3.7 | 0.5 | 1,022 | 46 |
| 16 | Fallon | 3.8 | 1.5 | 1,633 | -36 |
| 16 | Madison | 3.8 | 0.5 | 4,982 | -32 |
| 16 | Petroleum | 3.8 | -0.7 | 281 | 5 |
| 16 | Teton | 3.8 | -0.3 | 2,614 | -33 |
| 16 | Valley | 3.8 | 0.4 | 3,810 | -91 |
| 21 | Hill | 3.9 | 0.6 | 7,105 | -241 |
| 21 | Stillwater | 3.9 | 0.7 | 5,116 | -24 |
| 21 | Toole | 3.9 | 1.0 | 1,991 | -51 |
| 24 | Fergus | 4.0 | 0.4 | 5,492 | -328 |
| 24 | Jefferson | 4.0 | 0.3 | 5,391 | -53 |
| 24 | Lewis and Clark | 4.0 | 1.0 | 33,865 | -379 |
| 24 | Yellowstone | 4.0 | 0.9 | 78,049 | -524 |
| 28 | Carbon | 4.2 | 0.6 | 5,252 | -31 |
| 29 | Custer | 4.3 | 1.2 | 5,870 | -37 |
| 29 | Pondera | 4.3 | 1.1 | 2,530 | -40 |
| 31 | Cascade | 4.4 | 1.0 | 35,567 | -1,049 |
| 32 | Missoula | 4.5 | 1.0 | 61,256 | -152 |
| 33 | Dawson | 4.6 | 1.9 | 4,430 | -48 |
| 33 | Roosevelt | 4.6 | 0.6 | 4,177 | -116 |
| 35 | Blaine | 4.7 | 0.6 | 2,197 | -224 |
| 35 | Deer Lodge | 4.7 | 1.3 | 4,633 | -105 |
| 35 | Wibaux | 4.7 | 1.9 | 443 | -8 |
| 38 | Phillips | 4.9 | 0.4 | 1,839 | -3 |
| 38 | Rosebud | 4.9 | 0.7 | 3,432 | -189 |
| 38 | Silver Bow | 4.9 | 1.0 | 15,922 | -424 |
| 41 | Lake | 5.0 | 0.7 | 12,566 | 19 |
| 41 | Ravalli | 5.0 | 0.8 | 19,146 | -181 |
| 43 | Richland | 5.1 | 2.7 | 5,519 | -255 |
| 44 | Sheridan | 5.4 | 3.0 | 1,713 | 14 |
| 45 | Broadwater | 5.5 | 1.3 | 2,384 | -67 |
| 45 | Musselshell | 5.5 | 1.5 | 2,223 | 35 |
| 45 | Park | 5.5 | 1.4 | 8,286 | -59 |
| 48 | Granite | 5.7 | -0.9 | 1,499 | -40 |
| 49 | Flathead | 5.8 | 0.6 | 44,833 | -158 |
| 50 | Prairie | 6.2 | 2.7 | 438 | -26 |
| 51 | Big Horn | 6.6 | -0.1 | 4,437 | 13 |
| 52 | Sanders | 6.9 | 0.7 | 4,575 | 99 |
| 53 | Wheatland | 7.0 | 2.7 | 766 | -9 |
| 54 | Mineral | 7.4 | 0.9 | 1,497 | -76 |
| 55 | Lincoln | 7.5 | -1.3 | 7,226 | -108 |
| 56 | Glacier | 8.2 | 0.8 | 5,085 | 57 |
| Rank | Reservation | Current Unemployment Rate | Change over Year | Current Employment | Job Change from Last Year |
| 1 | Flathead | 5.3 | 0.7 | 12,325 | 33 |
| 2 | Fort Peck | 6.0 | 0.8 | 3,753 | -101 |
| 3 | Crow | 9.9 | -0.1 | 2,263 | 4 |
| 4 | Fort Belknap | 10.8 | 1.3 | 724 | -70 |
| 5 | Blackfeet | 11.4 | 1.2 | 3,596 | 35 |
| 6 | Northern Cheyenne | 11.9 | 1.3 | 1,212 | -42 |
| 7 | Rocky Boy’s | 12.0 | 1.3 | 1,043 | -20 |
