State, County jobless rate down

Montana's unemployment rate dipped slightly in September, while the jobless rate in Hill County went down considerably.

The state's jobless rate went down. 1 percentage points to 7.7 percent. Hill County's rate declined from 6.4 percent to 5.8 percent.

"After job gains in the first half of 2011, Montana's economy slowed in the third quarter, " said Labor Commissioner Keith Kelly. "However, the job gains posted in September suggest that we are still on the recovery path. We look forward to stronger job gains in the coming months. "

Kelly said there were about 700 new jobs created in the private...