People are counted as unemployed if they are at least 16 years old, are without a job and available for work, and have recently made specific efforts to find employment. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed as a percent of the entire labor force. 
Butte's monthly unemployment rate was 3.4 percent in May, 2024. This compares to 3.2 percent in Idaho as a whole. 
Butte's average annual unemployment rate in 2020 . . . 
- was 3.6 percent compared to 5.5 for Idaho  
- was greater than the previous year's rate of 2.6 percent.  
- ranked 42nd – from highest to lowest – out of Idaho's 44 counties.