Flathead County jobless rate up slightly

Flathead County’s unemployment rate ticked upward just slightly in June, increasing from 4 to 4.2 percent, the Montana Department of Labor and Industry said Friday.

The county had a workforce of 46,662 workers in June, compared to 45,015 in May.

Neighboring counties also showed small increases in jobless numbers. Lincoln County’s unemployment rate rose from 6.6 percent in May to 6.7 percent in June. Sanders County jumped from 4.7 to 5.4 percent, while Lake County increased from 3.1 to 3.8 percent.

Montana’s unemployment rate dropped for the second straight month, down to 3.8 percent for the month of June. The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.0 percent in June. Payroll employment posted a gain of 400 jobs statewide despite a loss of nearly 800 jobs in federal government employment over the month. Retail trade and local government posted the largest over-the-month growth. Total employment levels posted insignificant changes over the last month.