Is Montana Gaining Decent Jobs? Assessing the quality of newly created jobs in Montana

August 17, 2007

In Montana, it is not hard to see signs of growth. New restaurants, shopping centers and office buildings are appearing in many cities. There were over 1,100 new private businesses added between 2005 and 2006. With the increase in businesses comes an increase in jobs. Private sector employment grew by 3.6% from 2005 to 2006 and 12.9% from 2001.

However, employment growth does not reflect the quality of the jobs created. A measure of job quality is the level of wages associated with that job. There is concern that, as Montana’s economy grows, the jobs that are being added are not high quality jobs.

By Jessica Counts

Full Report: http://www.ourfactsyourfuture.org/admin/uploadedPublications/2033_July07_EAG_Article.pdf