Grant awarded to Northwest Montana for unemployment

There is good news on the economic front in Montana.

The unemployment rate for the month of January increased only one-tenth of a percentage point and is well below the national average.

The percentage is a telling factor especially during this recent turbulent economy.

In a press release, Keith Kelly, a commissioner from the U.S. Department of Labor and Industry, wrote, “The change in the unemployment rate is small, giving greater indication that national economic instability has not had a significant impact on Montana's economy.”

But the good news doesn't apply to every county in the state. With 10.3 percent of the labor force out of work, Lincoln County's unemployment rate is more than triple the state average.

Moreover, that number represents an almost four point jump between January and February.

While the new numbers are preliminary and not seasonally adjusted, they remain consistent with rates in past years.

For instance, during the same month last year, the unemployment rate in Lincoln County was 7.7 percent compared to 3.4 percent for the state and 4.9 percent for the rest of country.

What explains such consistently high percentages?

According to Barbara Wagner, an economist for in the Helena office of the Department of Labor, part of the blame falls on the steady decline in the timber industry, Lincoln's largest export, combined with the recent housing crisis.

Demand for wood is down across the nation as fewer homes are being built or remodeled.

She also added that winter months traditionally show higher unemployment in Lincoln County.

But the Department of Labor offers more than just crunched numbers.

The Helena office recently received a federal grant for $250,000, called a Regional Improvement Grant (RIG), which aims at convening key leaders in business, education and the general workforce to develop a strategy for training laborers for jobs in emergent industries.

The grant is aimed specifically at job losses in the lumber industry in Northwestern Montana.

“The specific concept is to help a particular region-such as Lincoln County-assess where future occupations and industries are going and how to get there,” said Ingrid Childress, an administrator in Helena at the Department of Labor.

Indeed, if the rest of Montana is faring better it is because agriculture and energy services are enjoying national and international demand.

“Such programs are crucial for lowering unemployment,” explained Wagner, “efforts earlier to diversify the state's economy is paying off.”

Hence, the lower unemployment rate.

The national unemployment rate this month dropped a tenth of a point to 4.8 percent.

March's numbers will be available in mid-April.