According to new report from Federal Funds Information from States, Montana ranks 3rd in the country in the Index of State Economic Momentum.

What exactly is the Index of State Economic Momentum?

The Index of State Economic Momentum ranks states based on their most recent performance on three key measures of economic vitality: personal income growth, employment growth, and population growth.

The index is updated each quarter. In the most recent update, Idaho is ranked first in the country for economic momentum with 3.08. Utah came in at second with a 2.40, and Montana and Arizona tied for third with a 2.07.

According to FFIS, measures of the three components are averaged, and the national average is set at zero. Each state’s score is then expressed as a percentage above or below the national average.

In Montana, the unemployment rate rose to a peak of 11.9% in April. The rate has declined every month since then, and in August, the rate declined considerably to its current position at 5.6% in August, when the latest statistics on unemployment in Montana were released. The unemployment rate shows how a large proportion of layoffs were temporary and many workers returned to their jobs as restrictions eased, according to the Montana Department of Labor & Industry. Nationally, the unemployment rate is currently 7.9%, according to the latest data.

The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics says new state employment and unemployment data for September 2020 are scheduled to be released on October 20, 2020.

To learn more about the current state of Montana's economy, click here.

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