HELENA — The state Labor Department says Montana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell slightly to 7.7 percent in September.
Labor Commissioner Keith Kelly says the state posted job gains in the first six months of 2011, but then Montana’s economy slowed in the third quarter. He says the job gains posted in September suggest that the state’s economy is still on the path to recovery.
Total employment posted job gains of about 900 in September, and the unemployment rate fell from the 7.8 percent posted in August.
Kelly says the private sector has posted fairly strong job growth throughout 2010 and 2011, but continued government job losses have prevented the unemployment rate from declining.
The national unemployment rate held steady at 9.1 percent.