West region · state data

Montana unemployment rate and jobs

Montana's unemployment rate was 3.1% in Sep 2026, 1.1 percentage points below the U.S. rate of 4.2%. That was down from 3.5% a year earlier.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Current Employment Statistics) via FRED®. Monthly data, seasonally adjusted. Latest observation Sep 2026; snapshot taken Oct 27, 2026, 2:15 AM EDT.

Unemployment rate (Sep 2026)

3.1%

U.S. rate, same month

4.2%

Difference from U.S.

-1.1 pt

A year earlier

3.5%

Rank (1 = lowest rate)

8th of 51

Nonfarm jobs (Sep 2026)

520,300

Job growth, 12 months

-1.0%

Record low rate

2.5% (Apr 2023)

Unemployment rate: Montana vs. the U.S.

3.1% Sep 2026 · Percent

Montana unemployment rate U.S. unemployment rate

Percent of the labor force, seasonally adjusted. Montana data from Jan 1976 to Sep 2026; the dashed line is the national rate (UNRATE).

How Montana compares

In Sep 2026, Montana had the 8th lowest rate of the 51 states and DC. Across the 13 states in the West region, the simple average was 4.1%, so Montana was 1.0 points below it.

Since the state series began in 1976, Montana's rate has ranged from a low of 2.5% in Apr 2023 to a high of 11.9% in Apr 2020. Just before the pandemic, in February 2020, it was 3.5%, 0.4 points higher than now. Over the last 12 months the rate averaged 3.4% and was above the national rate in 0 of them.

Jobs in Montana

Employers in Montana reported 520,300 nonfarm payroll jobs in Sep 2026, seasonally adjusted. That is 5,300 fewer than a year earlier (-1.0%), compared with +0.3% for the nation as a whole. Its 12-month job growth rate ranked 50th of 51. The record high was 528,300 in Jun 2024. Compared with February 2020, payrolls are up 6.6%.

520.3K Sep 2026 · Thousands of persons

Total nonfarm payroll jobs, thousands, seasonally adjusted, from the BLS survey of employers. Data from Jan 1990.

Last 12 months in Montana
Month	Unemployment rate	U.S. rate	Nonfarm jobs	Monthly job change
Sep 2026	3.1%	4.2%	520,300	-1,300
Aug 2026	3.2%	4.1%	521,600	-400
Jul 2026	3.2%	4.1%	522,000	+600
Jun 2026	3.3%	4.2%	521,400	-500
May 2026	3.4%	4.3%	521,900	-3,200
Apr 2026	3.5%	4.3%	525,100	+700
Mar 2026	3.6%	4.3%	524,400	-1,100
Feb 2026	3.6%	4.4%	525,500	-800
Jan 2026	3.6%	4.3%	526,300	+1,000
Dec 2025	3.6%	4.4%	525,300	+600
Nov 2025	3.6%	4.5%	524,700	-900
Sep 2025	3.5%	4.4%	525,600	-1,500

Record high unemployment rate: 11.9% (Apr 2020). Monthly figures are revised each year when BLS benchmarks the state data.

States with similar unemployment rates

Nebraska · 2.9%Wyoming · 3.0%Iowa · 3.2%Wisconsin · 3.2%

Other West states

Alaska Arizona California Colorado Hawaii Idaho Nevada New Mexico Oregon Utah Washington Wyoming All 50 states and DC U.S. unemployment rate

This page shows public labor market data for general information. It is not financial or career advice and does not predict future values.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Unemployment Rate in Montana [MTUR], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MTUR, Oct 27, 2026.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, All Employees: Total Nonfarm in Montana [MTNA], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MTNA, Oct 27, 2026.
View MTUR on FRED® · View MTNA on FRED® · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · BLS State and Metro Area Employment

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