The agency said jobs grew at a 1.5 percent clip in the past year, representing an increase of 6,100 since July 2003.
Natural resource and mining companies employ 700 more people than a year ago and construction firms have 600 more jobs.
While reopening of the Montana Resources mining operations in Butte last December accounts for much of the increase in that sector, Polzin said oil and gas companies in eastern Montana are partly responsible.
"The high worldwide price of oil once again makes oil and gas exploration in Montana worthwhile," he said.
Polzin said a price of $20-$25 per barrel is considered enough to make the state a lucrative target for drilling again, and the price hovered around $48 Friday.
"The outlook for energy is nowhere as glum as it was before," he said.
Overall, the job growth points to a Montana economy faring better than the nation, where the annual employment increase is 1.2 percent, Polzin said.
He noted that Montana has had only two months this year - April and May - where the estimate of annual job growth did not exceed 1 percent.
The Labor Department also reported that Montanans' wages are not keeping pace with inflation. The average weekly salary increased $9.14 to $431.30 in July, but that 2.2 percent growth was eclipsed by a 3 percent rise in the cost of living.
Polzin said the lagging increase in Montanans' wage is something to watch, but he doubts it indicates a change in the trend in which weekly pay in the state has climbed faster than inflation.
The department said the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in July, compared with 4.3 percent a year earlier. That means an estimated 19,100 people were out of work, 2,100 fewer than last July.
The highest county jobless rates were Big Horn, 12.3 percent; Glacier, 12.1 percent; Lincoln, 11.5 percent; Roosevelt, 9.3 percent; and Deer Lodge, 7.8 percent.
The lowest county unemployment rates were McCone, 0.6 percent; Daniels, 1.1 percent; Garfield, 1.3 percent; Sheridan and Sweet Grass, 1.9 percent; and Wibaux, 2 percent.
Among the most-populous counties, Lake had the highest unemployment at 5.4 percent, followed by Silver Bow, 5 percent; Hill, 4.6 percent; Flathead, 4.3 percent; Cascade and Ravalli, 3.9 percent; Fergus and Lewis and Clark, 3.6 percent; Yellowstone, 3.4 percent; Missoula, 3.1 percent; Park, 2.8 percent; and Gallatin, 1.9 percent.
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