Jobless rate here drops to single digits

It's been a year since the unemployment rate in Flathead County has dropped below double digits.

The jobless rate here for September was 9.9 percent, according to figures released by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.

A total of 39,097 people were working in the Flathead in September, leaving 4,307 unemployed out of a work force of 43,404 people.

The unemployment rate in August was 10.2 percent. The last time the county's jobless number was below 10 percent was in September 2010.

The jobless numbers Flathead County peaked at 14.1 percent in January this year and dropped into single digits only twice since October 2009.

Other counties in Northwest Montana also saw improved jobs numbers for September. From August to September, the jobless rate in Lake County declined from 10.9 percent to 10 percent. Lincoln County dropped from 14.6 percent to 13 percent, and Sanders County dropped from 14.7 percent to 13.3 percent.