Montana's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate dropped slightly in September to 4.1 percent, compared to the revised August estimate of 4.2 percent.
The state's unemployment rate hasn't budged much for months and that's just fine with Montana Labor and Industry chief economist Barbara Wagner.
"A little higher, of course, it's harder for workers to find jobs and that's bad, obviously," says Wagner. "If it gets lower than 4 percent it's hard for businesses to find workers. That can be bad as well because if you don't have workers, you can't produce your product."
Payroll employment lost 900 jobs in September in Montana, most likely due to projects finishing before the winter months.
Montana's labor force includes just over 524,000 people, about 21,500 are unemployed.
Montana's economy has outpaced the national economy for years and the latest unemployment numbers show there's no sign of that trend slowing down.
Wagner, credits industrial diversification for the state’s economic stamina. For example, she points to recent growth in "business services"
"That includes very technical jobs," says Wagner. "There's been a lot of talk about entrepreneurial, knowledge-based jobs in the Bozeman economy. Healthcare of course is one of our largest industries in Montana. It's actually the largest private employer in the state. That's done a really good job of adding jobs over the last few years."
Eastern Montana has the lowest unemployment rates in the state, but Wagner says southwest and northwest Montana are showing strong job growth.
The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.1 percent.
