Montana pay rates worst in nation

By Sarah R. Craig of The Associated Press - 09/03/2004

HELENA — Montana is still the worst state in the nation for average wage per job, but the state has improved slightly in terms of total average income over the past few years, a new report from the state Department of Labor and Industry shows.

The average salary is

$26,900 per job, just behind South Dakota's average of $27,200, Phil Brooks, the agency's chief economist said Thursday in presenting the annual Labor Day economic report.

‘‘These sorts of things change very slowly,'' Brooks said. ‘‘It would take a very large growth rate in Montana's economy.''

In per-capita income, which includes more than wages, Montana has moved up from

46th to 44th in the national ranking, passing Utah and Idaho. Montana's per-capita income in 2003 was $25,900.

Brooks said Utah and Idaho were more susceptible to the national recession in 2001 because they have more manufacturing and high tech jobs, which were the kind most affected by recession.

The Labor Day report, issued yearly since 1994, attempts to summarize Montana's economic condition by looking at such barometers as jobs, unemployment, income and wages.

The report shows that Montana's unemployment rate, roughly 4.5 percent, is below the national rate of about 5.5 percent.

Overall, Brooks expects state job growth to continue this year and next year at a rate of about 1.5 percent.

‘‘The Montana economy just keeps on truckin','' Brooks said.

And most of the jobs in the state do not require higher education. Over half of jobs demand only short-term or medium-term on-the-job training. Just 19

percent of jobs require a bachelor's degree. Brooks and fellow economist Brad Eldredge predicted those numbers will stay about the same through 2012.

‘‘The lower the job training you have, the more jobs there are for you in the state,'' Eldredge said.

However, those jobs are not high paying, he said. He does anticipate growth in high-paying occupations between 2002-2012. Those jobs include carpenters, nurses, general and occupations managers, and truck drivers, among others.

‘‘There is going to be growth in occupations where you can make a decent living in Montana,'' Eldredge said.

The highest predicted increase in the number of jobs from 2002 to 2012 is for carpenters, with an estimated 4,094 new jobs.

From 2003 to 2005, the state will see the largest job growth in the health care and social services sector, Brooks said, predicting 1,300 more jobs.

‘‘We all keep getting older every year,'' he said, and the effect is growth in health care and service needs.

From 2002 to 2012, health care jobs, such as support workers, doctors and technical workers are expected to be among the seven fastest growing occupations at about 30 percent.

The state's poverty rate is 14 percent, or 2 percent more than the national average, making it tied for 11th nationally for states with the highest poverty rate. There are about 130,000 Montanans living in poverty.