Unemployment up, but data still good

By Jennifer McBride / Leader Staff

In June, the Lake County unemployment rates dropped for the sixth straight year, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (DLI). Now, unemployment is back up for the winter, due to slumps in construction and tourism.

In July, the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent — the lowest July unemployment rate for the past 17 years. In 1990, the unemployment rate in July was 7.2 percent.

Now, however, unemployment is on the rise, back at 4.9 percent of the population — almost a full percentage point higher than last year's rate of 4.0. Of the 11,535 people in the Lake County labor force, 567 are unemployed.

Lake County unemployment is still significantly lower than it was 17 years ago, which is as far back as the Montana DLI website offers information. In November 1990, unemployment was 8.5 percent — almost double the current rate.

Lake County's rates are still a lot higher than the rest of the state. Montana's average unemployment, seasonally adjusted, is 3.4 percent — which is much lower than the national rate of about five percent. During the summer, Montana was tied with Hawaii for lowest unemployment in the nation. Currently, Montana is tied for ninth place in the nation. Despite the continuous decrease, Lake County, according to the Montana DLI, was the only county in June with a population of over 20,000 people with an unemployment rate above three percent.

While unemployment has been decreasing, wages have been increasing. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Lake County median family income has risen by $6,500 since 2002, outpacing more urbanized counties, like Flathead County. The HUD median family income for Lake County is $41,200.

Todd Erickson, Business Advocate at the Mission Valley One Stop Workforce Center, explained last summer than the increase in wages comes from low unemployment, which has turned Montana into a worker's market.

"The labor force is pretty much depleted," Erickson said. "And because of the higher demand for workers and the lower unemployment rate, wages are definitely going up."

He believes that the construction boom — which continued in Montana despite the audible pop from the national housing bubble — contributed to the increase in jobs and wages.

Wages increased not only in Lake County, but in Montana as a whole. In May 2007, the Montana average annual wage per job grew 4.9 percent to a preliminary estimate of $30,595 — the largest year-to-year increase since 1982.

While Lake County's employment rate is on the increase, so is the population. According to the U.S. Census, Lake County is the eighth fastest growing county in Montana. From 1990 to 2000, Lake County's population grew by 26 percent — doubling the statewide rate of 13 percent population growth. The boom is in contrast to 33 of Montana's other counties that are actually shrinking in population.

While high employment rates are good for workers, Erickson said they make businesses struggle to find good employees. In the summer, the Mission Valley One Stop Workforce Center had over 100 unfilled job postings for employment in cities in from St. Ignatius to Polson. The Center refers anyone who comes in to employment opportunities free of charge. It also funnels people into the Montana Apprenticeship and Training Program, which offers apprenticeship programs in 53 different apprentice-able occupations.

The worst time of year for employment in Montana has historically been January. In 1993, the unemployment rate reached a 17-year-high in January of 11.6 percent. Last year, in January, unemployment was 6.2 percent. This January's monthly rate won't be released for several weeks.

For more information, visit the Montana DLI Analysis and Research website at http://www.ourfactsyourfuture.org/