Jobless rate dips 1.5 percent

Flathead County’s unemployment rate improved in May, heralding the typical upswing in hiring as summer sets in.

The county’s unemployment rate last month posted at 11.2 percent, down 1.5 percent from April and considerably better than January’s all-time high of 14.1 percent.

“We usually see the numbers spike during the fall and winter and then rebound in spring and summer,” said Bill Nelson, manager of the Flathead Job Service office. “We’ve been a little more hopeful in our office with more employers advertising for employees.”

The Job Service has about 300 jobs posted, compared to fewer than 200 jobs listed this time a year ago.

“That’s hopeful,” Nelson said. “We don’t see any one thing pointing to recovery, but it looks like a lot of employers are adding just one more employee.”

Flathead County has a total labor force of 43,798 workers, with 4,911 of those unemployed, according to data from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. These figures are not seasonally adjusted.

Unemployment remains stubbornly high in neighboring Lincoln County, where the May unemployment rate was reported at 14.9 percent. It dropped, however, from April’s rate of 17.4 percent unemployment.

Lake County’s jobless rate dropped from 11 percent in April to 10.1 percent in May.

Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained steady in May at 7.3 percent, despite modest job gains. The unemployment rate has decreased from 7.5 percent at the start of the year. The U.S. unemployment rate also has remained fairly constant at 9.1 percent, with small gains in job levels, according to the Department of Labor and Industry.

“The rate of job growth slowed slightly this month, but we remain on the track to recovery,” Montana Labor Commissioner Keith Kelly said in a prepared statement. “The trend of private sector job growth that we have seen throughout the last year continues this month, with more than 1,100 private sector jobs added.”