Billings economy provides workers new
opportunities
By TOM HOWARD Of The Gazette
Staff
Local and national experts agreed Tuesday that the
Billings area's 1.5 percent unemployment rate provides significant
challenges for employers trying to fill jobs.
But
opportunities abound for people hoping to improve their lives by
boosting their job skills.
Nancy Boyer, a city councilwoman
who runs her own career-counseling business, said she is still busy
despite the low unemployment rate, because many of her clients are
looking for better jobs.
The low unemployment rate is one of
the consequences of 15 years of prosperity, an era in which Billings
has experienced steady income growth and the creation of thousands
of new jobs.
The number of people employed in Yellowstone County has
increased from about 61,000 in the 1980s to more than 100,000 today,
said Larry Swanson, associate director of regional economics for the
O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of
Montana.
Yellowstone County's inflation-adjusted per capita
personal income - job earnings, dividends, interest, rent and
transfer payments such as Social Security - has grown significantly,
from just more than $25,000 in 1995 to $33,245 in 2005, Swanson
said.
"This can be considered fairly aggressive growth in
income over the past 10 years," he said.
Economists had
predicted a steady decline in the unemployment rate a few years ago
as Montana made the transition from a resource-based economy to an
economy that emphasizes trade and services.
"We could see a
tight labor market happening, but we didn't think an unemployment
rate of less than 2 percent would happen until 2011 or 2012,"
Swanson told about 300 people at a forum hosted by Celebrate
Billings.
With unemployment hovering at nearly 1.5 percent in
Billings, some jobs will go unfilled, barring a significant economic
downturn, Swanson said.
Although most people are employed,
many workers continue to be "underemployed," meaning that they're in
the market for a better-paying job. By making targeted and
systematic investments in work force training and education, many
people will be able to improve their lives as their job skills
increase, Swanson said.
Economists warn that a low
unemployment rate can stoke inflation as employers are forced to
raise wages to secure and retain employees. Swanson said
inflationary pressure remains subdued, but the low unemployment rate
creates a "huge opportunity" for people who want to improve their
job skills and education.
Swanson also warned that economic
growth could slow down within a few years as the state's population
ages. By 2025, Montana will become one of the oldest states in the
nation, with more than one-fourth of its residents 65 and older, he
said.
Stuart Rosenfeld, president of Regional Technology
Strategies Inc. of Chapel Hill, N.C., said comprehensive community
colleges can play a key role in helping communities train qualified
workers.
A Billings work force development program must be
aligned with the community's most important employment sectors, such
as health care, business and finance, energy, education and
information technology. But Yellowstone County also has more than
11,000 self-employed people, and they shouldn't be overlooked,
Rosenfeld said.
Encouraging people to start their own
businesses can help them replace jobs lost to globalization. About
half of all multimedia artists are self-employed, and nearly
one-third of commercial and industrial designers are self-employed,
Rosenfeld said.
He also presented a list of recommendations
for a successful work force development program. They
include:
• Keep it flexible, with simple entry and exit
strategies.
• Link to "clusters" of important local
employment sectors.
• Recognize and support entrepreneurs and
other self-employed people.
• Create real partnerships with
local industry.
During a panel discussion, Keith Rupert of
CTA Architects Engineers said the company never had to do much
recruiting until about four years ago. In some cases, the company
has used creative ways to fill jobs. When hiring a fire protection
engineer, a highly specialized field, CTA conducted an interview by
videoconferencing with a candidate from New Zealand, he
said.
CTA has had limited success by using "headhunters,"
people who recruit professionals. Online employment services, such
as Monster.com, have proven to be
more effective, Rupert said.
Published on Wednesday, November 14, 2007. Last
modified on 11/14/2007 at 12:47 am
Billingsgazette.com
encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their
neighbors. Comments that are submitted go into a queue to be
moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. By submitting a
comment, you are agreeing to the terms & conditions set out in
our comment policy.
If you have any
problems with the new Talk Back! system, please email us.
Median household income
in Billings is lower than 2/3 of American cities of this size; a
good reason for local/state politicians to resist the temptation to
attempt to raise taxes on residents..
not a good comparison, we
need to look at bozeman, boise, missoula for good paying jobs,
manufacturing, high tech, consulting, federal research, data farms,
etc.
Contact Us |
Subscribe
Comment Display Options
.gif){kind=spacer}
