Montana added more than 75,000 jobs since the onset of the pandemic.
That gives Montana the fifth-highest job growth in the nation in that time, according to market analysts with S&P Global.
The bulk of those jobs are in the health care, education, and tourism fields. Those industries experienced big losses during COVID, but now employ more people than before the pandemic.
Tech work and other professional services also saw significant growth. Nick Holom is an economist with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. He told state lawmakers this month that increase was driven by remote workers moving to Montana from other states:
“We saw an increase–a doubling– of work-from-home, pre-pandemic to post-pandemic. And a lot of those workers fall within that industry,” Holom said.
Montana is in the top five for growth in average hourly wage and net income nationwide.
That growth is largest for high-earners living in large urban areas. For rural and working class Montanans, wage growth has largely paralleled inflation.
Karl Kuykendal is an analyst with S&P. He told lawmakers Montana’s growth is likely to slow down in coming years, but still remain above the national average.
“We do expect relative growth in Montana to remain strong. So we are forecasting employment and real GDP growth in Montana to rank among the top fifteen states over the next five years,” Kuykendal said.
Kuykendal and Holom presented their analyses this month to lawmakers on the Interim Revenue Committee.
