news
Billings Employment Rate Hits 2.8% in May 2026
Latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data reveals Billings labor force grew to 99.3K in May. Track local unemployment trends and workforce changes affecting the Montana job market.
Listen in English · 2 min
How we reported this
The civilian labor force in the Billings area stood at 99.3 thousand in May 2026 after rising from 98.5 thousand the prior month, according to the latest figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment reached 96.6 thousand that month while unemployment held at 2.8 thousand, producing an unemployment rate of 2.8 percent.
Monthly Patterns in Workforce Counts
Earlier months showed wider swings. The labor force dipped to 97.6 thousand in February 2026 before climbing again. Employment followed a similar path, falling to 93.8 thousand in January and then recovering to 95.7 thousand by April. Unemployment numbers moved from 4.0 thousand in January down to 2.7 thousand in April.
The unemployment rate tracked those changes, peaking at 4.0 percent in January before settling at 2.8 percent for both April and May. December 2025 had recorded a labor force of 99.0 thousand, employment of 95.5 thousand, and a rate of 3.6 percent.
Payroll Employment Trends
Total nonfarm wage and salary employment measured 95.3 thousand in May, up from 94.4 thousand in April but still below the December 2025 level of 95.4 thousand. The 12-month percent change stood at negative 1.4 percent in May after reaching negative 1.9 percent in April and negative 0.4 percent in December.
These figures come directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics customized tables for the Billings metropolitan statistical area and cover the period through preliminary May 2026 data. The series shows nonfarm employment at 93.0 thousand in February before the subsequent rebound.
Updated releases from the same federal source will provide the next monthly observations for both labor force and payroll measures.