Montana’s unemployment rate has been falling since 2011, but it wasn’t until last month that it fell so low that economists consider it to be “abnormal.” According to Montana Department of Labor and Industry Senior Economist Barbara Wagner, the recently released 3.9 percent unemployment rate indicates that Montana is heading toward a worker shortage.

"We are expecting because of our aging workforce and the number of retirements involved with that, to actually have a bit of a worker shortage in the coming years," Wagner said. "We are not quite at that level yet, but we are starting to have a lower than normal rate. That means good things for workers: it means workers will have an easier time finding new jobs."

Wagner says a normal unemployment rate is between four and six percent. Wagner had more good news for Montana workers as state data shows wages increased in 2014.

"Montana's wages increased by 3.5 percent last year. That's good wage growth. Montana has actually had the sixth fastest wage growth in the nation, among states, for the five year and the ten year time frame. The really important thing is that inflation was at about 1.6 percent last year, so our wage growth was much faster than inflation. That is what we call 'real' wage growth."

The bump in wages means that the average Montanan made $38,875 last year.

 

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