(The Center Square) – Montana’s unemployment rate was 2.4% last month, and the state added over 1,000 jobs, federal and state data shows.
It also marks 20 months in a row that Montana has seen its unemployment rate stay below 3%, according to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office.
“We’re creating an environment where businesses can thrive, create more good-paying jobs, and increase opportunities for all Montanans, and we’re seeing great results,” Gianforte said in a statement. “Wages in Montana grew at the fifth fastest rate in the nation last year, and we have more Montanans working now than ever before.”
Including payroll, agricultural and self-employed people, the state’s total employment grew by 784 jobs in June, while the total labor force grew by 1,085 people.
Tanner Avery of the Frontier Institute, a Helena-based think tank, said the data shows Montana is an economic leader.
“Thanks to fiscal restraint by the state government and a focus on cutting unnecessary red tape, Montana continues to be a leader in opportunity and entrepreneur,” Tanner told The Center Square.
