The big news this morning that hit the major news outlets (besides the story that the dock workers' strike was suspended) was the latest jobs report, and sources are saying things look good.

  • CNN reports that 254,000 jobs were added in September and unemployment dropped to 4.1%
  • CNBC's headline reads "Jim Cramer says strong jobs report suggests no imminent recession--and that's good for stocks"
  • MarketWatch reports that stock futures were up on the S&P, Dow and Nasdaq

Montana's Employment Rank

Given the encouraging numbers, we were curious how Montana's employment stats compare to the rest of the country. Historically, Montana's wages have been lower than the rest of the country, but when considering unemployment rates and job growth, the picture might be rosier.

U.S. News and World Report have created Employment rankings for every state as part of their data on the "best states for economy." Having a high Employment ranking didn't necessarily correlate with having a high Economy ranking. North Dakota, for example, is #2 for Employment but #38 in Economy. But for the #1 state for Employment, they were also #3 for Economy and that was Utah.

So where does Montana rank?

Montana's unemployment rate has been between 3.1 and 3.3 since March according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which may have helped its #13 ranking by U.S. News and World Report for a low unemployment rate. Montana was also ranked #14 for job growth. The lowest ranking was #24 for labor force participation. Combined, it still put Montana relatively close to the top of the list for Employment at #11.

Montana's Rankings

  • Low Unemployment Rate #13
  • Job Growth #14
  • Labor Force #24
  • Employment Overall #11

Montana did slightly better for Economy with a ranking of #9.

Top 10 Most Commonly Reported Ancestries of Montanans

Using information from the Census Bureau, these are the most commonly reported ancestries by Montanans according to 24/7 Wall Street.

Gallery Credit: Ashley Warren

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