BBER PUBLICATIONS SEARCH RESULTS

Outdoor recreation in Beaverhead County spans a wide variety of activities, including big game hunting, upland game bird hunting, hiking, camping, rafting, mountain biking, and angling. This study represents a comprehensive effort to assess the size of that total economic contribution. We have gathered and assembled data on the size and scope of measurable outdoor recreation in Beaverhead County. The activities of hunting and angling in Beaverhead County ultimately produce an economy with: -451 more jobs, spread across the state in a wide-ranging spectrum of industries. -$74 million more each year in income received by Montana households. -$167 million each year in additional output. -More than 2,000 more people attracted and retained to live in our state.

This report is on the state of Montana manufacturing conducted for the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC). The report and analysis was done by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana. This is the 25th year that BBER and MMEC have collaborated to produce reports on Montana?s manufacturing climate. The three primary topics are: the state of manufacturing at the state and national level in a general economic context; a survey of Montana manufacturers about the state of Montana manufacturing; and an impact survey of firms which used MMEC?s consulting services.

Demand in the economy has roared back with unexpected speed, but employers are having trouble hiring back laid-off workers.

This is a study of the contributions made to the economy of the state of Montana by the production, employment, spending and tax revenues that can be attributed to 58 of the state''s hospitals. Hospitals'' high paying jobs, high value-added production, and significant tax payments add to the state economy in their own right. As the dollars paid to employees, vendors and governments are in turn respent in the economy, their ultimate significance grows. The Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana was retained by the Montana Hospital Association (MHA) to carry out an analysis how Montana hospitals enhance the state''s economy. This report summarizes and documents the results. Our basic finding is that Montana hospitals generate considerable economic prosperity, not only for the communities in which they are located, but for the state as a whole. In addition to providing the overall state economic impact, we also report the impacts of 58 individual hospitals across the state.

This is the seventh annual report on the high tech industry in the state of Montana. The Montana High Tech Business Alliance (HTBA or the Alliance), formed in 2014, is a member-driven group of high tech businesses and other organizations statewide. The Alliance asked the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) to collect information and insights from its members so that a better assessment of its economic footprint and its prospects for continued growth could be made. This report presents the findings of that research.

Montana's high-tech companies not only survived, but even benefited from the dynamics of a pandemic economy, generating more than $2.9 billion in revenue.

Montana''s health centers contribute a sizable, ongoing and permanent impact on the state''s economy. Spending, demand and an aging population are spurring growth.

Cooperatives have been part of the fabric of Montana nearly as long as we have been a state. They employ thousands and make Montana''s economy significantly larger.

How COVID-19 Has Reshaped the Economy - What Changes Are Here to Stay? A Life-Or-Death Moment for Cities - New York and Other Metropolises Must Protect Themselves From pandemics or Our Future Will Be Far Less Urban The State of Manufacturing in Montana - Manufacturing Growth Stalls Due to COVID-19

Farming and Ranching - A Year of Volatile Commodity Prices and Near-Record Stimulus Payments Forest Products - Montana Wood Products in the Time of COVID-19 Energy - The COVID-19 Recession Impacts Prices Manufacturing - Continued Growth Is Interrupted by the Pandemic Travel, Tourism and Recreation - Crowds Flock To Montana During COVID Summer Transportation and Logistics - 2020 Was a Year of Disruption Health Care - COVID-19 Alters Health Care Landscape Technology and Innovation - Remote Work, Zoom Towns and a Spotlight on Biotech Real Estate and Construction - The Seller''s Market Continues

Includes sections on: Statewide Economic Performance - Is Montana''s Economic Hole Shallower Than the Rest? The Performance of the BBER Forecast - Economic Shocks Challenge Forecast Montana?s Regions and Cities - Seeing Beyond the Pandemic''s Grip State Revenue Report - Montana''s Employment Losses Slow Growth Major Economic Events of 2019 - A Year We Won''t Forget

This report presents the findings of research intended to quantify the potential size of the recreational cannabis marketplace in Montana, and the potential tax revenue that could be collected in the event that recreational cannabis achieves legal status as envisioned in initiatives CI-118 and I-190 on the November ballot. This independent effort conducted by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana was commissioned by New Approach Montana, a political campaign aimed at passing the initiatives. The research uses publicly available data and draws on similar research conducted in other states.

It?s no secret that child care can be costly and inadequate child care can contribute to a host of issues, including job selection, absenteeism and work performance. That can in turn can affect one?s earning potential, as well as the earning potential of employers and the greater state economy. Put it all together and Montana loses $232 million a year due to inadequate child care.

How we work is rapidly changing as we approach the fourth industrial revolution. What can Montanans expect in this new world of work?

Financial markets have been interrupted and workers are being furloughed. When can we expect a recession?

This study of the Economic Contributions of the Lehrerleut Branch of the Hutterite Communities in Montana was performed by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana (BBER), in partnership with the Montana State University Department of Economics and Agricultural Economics. It was commissioned by Church, Harris, Johnson and Williams, P.C., on behalf of the Lehrerleut Communities. This research summary highlights the outcomes of the study, which will be described more fully in a forthcoming report. The role of Hutterites in the local economy, and the contributions made by the Communities to the total economic pie are not well understood by many Montanans. The broad goal of this study is to address that information void and highlight the economic impact the Hutterite Communities have on their local economies, as well as on the economy of the entire state. Our basic finding is that the presence of the 81 farming operations owned and operated by the 38 Lehrerleut Communities examined in this study support production, employment and income in the Montana economy that is significant in size and scope. The substantial linkages that exist between their agricultural and other operations and the rest of the state economy ultimately support jobs and income in non-Hutterite and non-agricultural sectors of the economy, resulting in a larger economic pie for all Montanans to share.

After more than a decade of economic growth that has featured strong hiring and steadily falling unemployment rates, labor markets across the country and certainly across Montana are tight. For some the supply of suitable workers for their openings has shrunk to the point where they are questioning how they can continue to fill orders, let alone capitalize on new opportunities. The data agree with this assessment ? at least to a point.

This article looks at nine of Montana''s key industries; Farming and Ranching: Price Declines and Exports Make for a Challenging Year, Forest Products: Positive Signs for Montana, Energy: What to Watch for in 2020, Manufacturing: Montana Outpaces Nation as a Whole, Travel, Tourism and Recreation: Nonresident Visitation Stable, Health Care: The Impact of Medicaid Expansion, Transportation and Logistics: A Shortage of Drivers Continues to Cause Concern, Technology and Innovation: Record Revenue, Jobs and Venture Capital Investment, Real Estate and Construction: Housing Markets Lack Inventory.

Medicaid expansion has provided nearly $1.4 billion of health care to beneficiaries during its first two and half years.

Montana University System research has a significant impact on the state?s economy, providing income, jobs and tax revenue.

What would the economy of Ravalli County look like today if timber harvests hadn?t declined?

The U.S. economy continues to move into positive territory and the unemployment rate is at a near historic low. But is a recession coming in 2019?

Conclusions from a Headwaters Economics report on timber-dependent communities in Idaho are incorrect ? analyzing the wrong variables and using the wrong statistical test.

This is a study of the contributions made to the economy of the state of Montana by the production, employment, spending and tax revenues that come about due to the state''''s largest hard rock metal mining operation: the Sibanye-Stillwater mines and processing facilities in south central Montana. The company''''s high-paying jobs, high value-added production, and significant tax payments add to the state economy in their own right. As the dollars paid to employees, vendors, and governments are in turn respent in the economy, their ultimate significance grows. The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana (BBER) was retained by Sibanye-Stillwater to carry out an analysis how the operations of the mining complex makes the state?s economy larger, more prosperous, and more populous.

What would the economy of the state of Montana look like if the eight largest hard rock mines did not exist?

Forest related industries have long played a major role in Montana?s economy ? especially in the western part of the state. The decades-long drum roll of layoffs, reduced employment and mill closings have been the subject of many discussions and headlines in the media. This paper takes a systematic view of Montana?s forest industry during the past few decades and identifies the major causes of industry trends. The conclusion is that timber harvest volumes in Montana are the major factor impacting industry conditions, including employment and labor earnings. Labor productivity has generally increased in Montana?s larger timber-processing facilities, but these gains are not driving reduced employment and labor earnings in Montana?s forest industry.

What would the economy of the state of Montana look like if the eight largest hardrock mines ? producing copper, palladium, gold, talc, cement and other products and materials ? did not exist? The communities in which those facilities are located ? the businesses, the households and governments whose economic fortunes are closely tied with the success of Montana?s mines ? already understand the importance of the hardrock mining industry to their own prosperity. It is perhaps less apparent ? but no less important ? to the population of the state as a whole.

This study examines the implications of closing Units 3 and 4 of the Colstrip Electric Generating Station early. Specifically, we examine the consequences for jobs, income, population, economic output and other measures of economic activity.

Twenty-five years ago, the Family and Medical Leave Act was passed to help working families, but today the law is no longer adequate.

This is the fourth annual report on the high tech industry in the state of Montana. The Montana High Tech Business Alliance (HTBA), formed in 2014, is a member-driven group of high tech businesses and other organizations statewide. The Alliance asked the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) to collect information and insights from its members so that a better assessment of its economic footprint and its prospects for continued growth could be made. This report presents the findings of that research. The fourth iteration of this study adds new questions focused on hiring and the high tech labor force.

If you travel across the state and talk with Montana?s employers, you will hear frequent complaints about their difficulty finding workers.

Fifty-eight percent of all women participate in the workforce, but are paid less than men, earning 77 percent of what men earn. Every state in the nation has an earnings gap, but Montana ranks near the bottom at 46th in the nation.

Median earnings for Montana workers over age 24 are $31,800 and places Montana 45th among all states. How can Montana increase wages and develop a robust knowledge economy of skilled workers?

In this study we examine the economic contributions of craft brewing to the state of Montana. This is the third iteration of this research, previously completed in 2012 and 2014, separately. We find the Montana craft brewing industry to be experiencing rapid growth, with total beer production having increased by 87% since we began collecting data in 2010. Measured by other metrics the industry is growing even faster, with sales, employment, compensation, and expenditures all having more than doubled in that time. Given all this activity, we find the total economic impact of craft brewing to be sizeable, contributing 1,044 jobs, almost $34 million in personal income, $103 million in output by Montana businesses, and 278 additional residents living in the state due to the operations of Montana state brewers. New to this study is Montana brewer agricultural purchases, totaling about $4.5 million dollars in 2015. Finally we look at some of the intangible benefits of brewpubs and find them to invigorate neighborhoods, repurpose industrial properties and bring communities together.

Deciding where to attend college can be one of life?s pivotal decisions ? one that can largely shape a student?s future. What can we learn about college quality from the average earnings of its students?

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana was contracted to conduct a study on the utilization of local contractors by the Colville National Forest through the NEW Forest Vision 2020 Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) project. The purpose of the study aimed to identify and measure the opportunities and benefits the NEW Forest Vision 2020/CFLRP program is bringing to communities in the region. The BBER used records of service contracts, timber sale contracts and agreements to characterize the number of local entities (businesses, nonprofits, agencies, etc.) involved in meeting the restoration objectives of the CFLRP through the NEW Forest Vision 2020.

Look at any of the ?best places to live? lists and you will see many college towns. These small to mid-sized cities offer an appealing mix of amenities, but they also tend to offer something else ? a high cost of living and low wages, particularly for people with a college degree.

Intercollegiate athletics play a major role in colleges and universities, individual communities and American culture. Lean how University of Montana athletics impact the Missoula economy in visitor spending, jobs and personal income.

If you pay close attention, you will notice that almost all economic forecasts have two things in common ? first, they are optimistic. Recessions are much less common than growth, after all. But those forecasts are usually accompanied by a second thing ? a long list of problems that could make those optimistic forecasts go bad; such as a downturn in energy, mining and farming businesses. But other parts of Montana?s economy remained strong in 2015 and the state went on to post a good year.

Economic growth is nothing more than the sum total of growth in businesses everywhere - in communities, as well as the state and the nation. And so strategies and policies that are aimed at producing economic growth must ultimately help businesses grow. How can we make that happen?

In the next 10 years, at least 130,000 working Montanans will retire. With an aging population, Montana''s labor force will only grow by 4,100 workers per year for the next 10 years (Wagner, 2015). Given current trends, there will simply not be enough workers to fill the projected annual job growth of 6,500 to continue to grow Montana''s economy. Montana must find strategies to increase labor force participation so businesses have the workers they need.

When Iris Owen found out she was pregnant with twins, she was thrilled- and then terrified. A certified public accountant at Anderson ZurMuehlen''s Missoula office, Owen didn''t know how she would be able to continue her career with not just one, but two infants. After the twins were born, Owen had a few health complications and took four months off to stay at home. "If I didn''t work for a company that was so supportive, I might not have gone back to work," she said. Now her girls are 18 months old, and the tax accountant has a flexible schedule, working more hours January through April (tax season) and three-quarters time during the rest of the year.

Strong growth in Montana manufacturing employment occurred despite permanent closures in several manufacturing industries. Employment in the wood and paper products industry decreased by 550 workers between 2009Q2 and 2013Q3. Employment in all the other components of Montana manufacturing increased by about 1,600 workers, or 11.3 percent. In summary, since the start of the recovery Montana manufacturing employment has increased considerably faster than the national rate. This strong performance was in spite of permanent closures in the wood and paper products industries.

This is a PowerPoint presentation of the results of a survey, funded by The Greater Montana Foundation, of Montana Statewide Media Habits which collected data from a telephone survey of 526 adults in Montana in April-May 2015. Key Findings: Television remains a key source of news and information, local news from all sources is very closely followed and highly sought after, the rate of internet access in homes now matches that found nationwide, handheld devices are used by a significant portion of Montanans to access news.

The federal government is a major land owner in the western part of Montana, and many communities benefit from management of these lands. Restoration and maintenance projects on national forests can provide economic benefits to local and regional communities in the form of jobs, wages, and the secondary effects generated when businesses buy supplies in the community and workers spend their wages. Federal contracting of restoration and maintenance also provides other nonmonetary benefits: enhancement of natural and human capital such as improved ecosystem function, enhancement of business capacity, and the ability for individuals and families to stay in the community.

Montana''s high-tech industry will grow 8-10 times the projected statewide growth rate, with average wages at about $50,000 - twice the median earnings per Montana worker, according to a recent study by the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

A review of the Forest Products Industry in Montana for 2014 and the outlook for 2015.

This station Bulletin of the Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station Moscow, Idaho examines current conditions of the Idaho Forest Products Industry and its outlook for 2015. Topics examined include: sales by sector, economic impact, lumber production trends, employment and worker income, and value-added by forest products manufacturing.

Trailhead Commerce Park is a rail-accessible industrial development project located in Lockwood, Montana, that is intended to serve manufacturing, transportation, warehousing, and other commercial business development. As it is conceived by its developers, its location adjacent to the BNSF/MRL rail line, bisected by the proposed Billings bypass roadway, and situated in the strategically well-positioned Billings market area, would make it an attractive candidate for business expansion. Its successful construction and development could be a major economic event for the Billings and southeastern Montana economies.

This poster presents the findings of the Bureau''s Survey of California forest products mill operations for 2012. It graphically presents the location/types of mills, California timber harvest by species, disposition, timber processing capacity and sales value. It also summarizes the results and highlights of the survey.

The objective of this poster is to describe the value and types of restoration work occurring in the Southwestern Crown of the Continent, along with who is capturing that work, and provide a baseline against which future investments made through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program could be compared.

This is a study of the economic contribution of Montana craft brewing to Montana?s economy. The first study of this nature on the brewing industry was conducted in 2012, based on operating conditions in 2010 and 2011. The current study builds on that work by investigating the trends during 2012 and 2013 and estimating the current economic contribution of the industry. There were 40 breweries operating in the state by the end of 2013, with another 11 breweries in planning. This ranks Montana third in the nation in breweries per 100,000 adults over age 21, according to the Brewers Association.

This poster summarizes the results from the Bureau''s study of the 2013 Oregon Forest Products Industry. Information about Plant production, capacity, and employment; Volume of raw material received, by county and ownership; Species of timber received and live/dead proportions; Finished product volumes, types, sales value, and market locations; and Utilization and marketing of manufacturing residue is presented was collected during the survey and much of it summarized in this poster.

A BBER study found that Montana''s beer and wine distributors are major contributors to the economy, with impacts throughout the state and across industry sectors.

This is a study of the economic contribution of the operations of the Montana Beer and Wine Distributors Association (MBWDA) to Montana?s economy. The beverage distributing industry is a major contributor to the economy, with impacts throughout the state and across industry sectors. To illustrate these contributions, MBWDA sought to determine precisely how distributor operations impact jobs, income, and sales of all Montana businesses and households. Using a state-of-the-art policy analysis model and data collected by MBWDA staff, the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana produced a detailed assessment of beer and wine distributors? impact on employment, income, output, and population in the Montana economy.

This is a study of the effects on the Montana economy of the operations of the Montana Board of Research and Commercialization Technology (MBRCT), a program established by the Montana Legislature in 2000 to encourage economic development through investment in Montana-based research projects with a clear path to commercialization. The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana (BBER), using a state-of-the-art policy analysis model and publicly available data on program spending and associated impacts, produced a detailed assessment of the ultimate impact of the operations of the program on employment, income, output, and population in the Montana economy.

Living a "Montana lifestyle" with access to recreational opportunities is one of the advantages of operating a business in Montana, according to respondents to BBER''s annual manufacturers survey.

In 2005, less than 2 percent of U.S. crude oil was produced through horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. In 2013, the share was more than a third, and it continues to grow rapidly. The increases in gas production are no less startling. For a state like Montana, which sites astride the Bakken formation, it has been a sea change for the entire economy.

Q&A with Montana''s leading economists and industry experts on economic issues facing Montana.

The economies of Butte and Anaconda have long been intertwined. Copper used to be the connecting link; it was mined in Silver Bow County and refined in Deer Lodge County. But now the connections is workers.

Using the REMI economic model the economic impact of the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts was analyzed for Montana. The operations of the Foundation, which produces and sells ceramics, its educational workshops, and the summer festival it hosts were all considered in the analyses. It ultimately supports 26 year-round jobs and about $1.4 million of income to Montana households (37 year-round equivalent jobs and $2.1 million in festival years).

While women now participate equally in the wage economy and earn a majority of all bachelor''s degrees, this has not led to financial equality. Women do not share equally in the economic well-being of the state.

The 2013 Montana Economic Development Summit in Butte was one of the biggest and the best. Together, with some of the most influential business leaders of our time and ambassadors from some of Montana''s most important trading partners in the world, we helped sow the seeds for unlimited potential.

Q&A with Governor Steve Bullock on statewide economic issues and plans for his first year as governor.

Even as growth continues to spread and solidify across the state, important pieces of the economy remain far from healthy. The national economy will turn in a more sluggish growth performance this year. This and other global economic developments make us a bit more measured as we re-examine Montana''s growth prospects.

Migration had dramatic impacts on Montana during the past two decades, affecting the total population, its distribution between rural and urban areas, and composition by age, including school-age populations.

North Dakota is experiencing an oil boom that has increased total U.S. oil production as well as sheltered the state from the economic impacts of the Great Recession. Montana doesn''t have as much oil development activity as North Dakota, but is experiencing impacts of the development in Western North Dakota.

Announces the report "The Impact of Otter Creek Coal Development on the Montana Economy" by Patrick Barkey and Paul Polzin. Includes highlights of the study results.

The U.S. economy is now in the fourth year of an exceedingly slow recovery that began from a cyclic trough in the second quarter of 2009. The recovery is under way in manufacturing. The comeback of durable goods production accounted for most of the growth. This report was prepared by Montana State University Montana Manufacturing Extension Center and the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research and examines trends in Montana manufacturing.

Although the Great Recession officially ended in 2009, manufacturing in Montana continued declining through 2010, falling to under 20,000 workers after the pre-recession level of nearly 24,000. However, both 2011 and 2012 revealed growth for Montana manufacturers, with annual sales increasing to more than $13 billion and employment topping 21,000 workers for the first time since the recession''s end. This article includes the results from the annual survey of Montana''s largest manufacturers, which queries manufacturers on a variety of business issues pertaining to both the year just completed and the outlook for the coming year.

A lot of things started to fall into place for the recovering Montana economy in 2012. We estimate that the state economy grew by about 2.7 percent in 2012.

There is no doubt about it Helena is a government town. The end of the state government pay freeze should temporarily boost growth in 2014. But the near-term trends for all levels of government will keep overall growth in the Lewis Clark County economy less than 2.0 percent per year, less than the statewide average.

Ravalli County's economy appears to be coming out of the Great Recession, albeit slowly. The real estate market has stabilized with the number of residential real estate sales in 2012 increasing over 2011 levels. Prices are about the same, but days on market increased slightly over 2011 levels.

According to the report, "The Economic Impact of Increased Production at the Spring Creek Mine," commissioned by the Montana Chamber of Commerce, a proposed increase of coal production by 20 million tons at the mine owned by Cloud Peak Energy would more than double output at the facility and require expansion in capital and equipment, labor force and new purchases of resources such as electricity and work uniforms.

This is a report on a study conducted by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research which examined the economic contribution of the craft brewing industry. The research was designed to answer the question, What does the craft brewing industry contribute to the Montana economy?

This report summarizes the findings of an investigation into the likely impacts on the Montana economy of a significant expansion in coal production at the Spring Creek mine operated by Cloud Peak Energy near Decker, Montana.

The objective of this study is to determine the spatial distribution of businesses engaged in restoration activities in the SW Crown and measure the success of local contractors in accessing these job opportunities while comparing these trends to the surrounding region, previous years, and non-Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) projects.

To say that the behavior of the economy deviated from normal during the 2008-09 recession would be an understatement. The downturn was long and severe, and it left no county in Montana untouched. For the third consecutive year, the nation's economy has stumbled at mid-year.

The 2011 national high school graduation rate was 75 percent. The remaining 25 percent, about 1.2 million high school seniors across the country, did not attain a high school diploma.

This is a study of the effects on the Montana economy of the development of Otter Creek coal in southeastern Montana. An assessment of the impact on employment, income, output, and population.

There are more than 36 million people with a disability in the United States, accounting for almost 12 percent of the total civilian non-institutionalized population. In Montana, the proportion with a disability is greater. Thirteen percent (125,302) of the civilian non-institutionalized population in Montana has a disability. Working age adults with a disability, those 18-64 years of age, comprise over half of the disabled population in Montana and nearly 11 percent of all working adults in this age group. With continued increases in the cost of health care and an increase in the number of working-age Montanans with disabilities as a result of the aging baby boom generation, the federal and state share of spending to support this population represents a large and faster growing share of all federal and state expenditures. The aging of the baby boom generation is expected to contribute to growth in Social Security Disability Insurance awards for at least another decade. In Montana, federal government payments for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income alone totaled more than $469 million in 2010, up 5 percent from 2009, and almost 10 percent from 2008.

High energy prices and a growing recognition of the intrinsic value provided by a clean environment have resulted in businesses and consumers going "green" to minimize environmental damage and reduce energy costs.

This report documents the research findings of how the operations and the output of The University of Montana-Missoula contributes to Montana's economy.

It certainly has been a trying time for the Montana economy. The state remains in the grip of its worst recession since the 1980s, and news of closures and layoffs is depressingly easy to find. Yet it is also apparent that a long-awaited recovery in the economy has begun to take hold.

Addresses the short-term and long-term impacts that the closure of the Smurfit-Stone facility in Frenchtown will have on the Missoula-area economy.

This report details the findings of a comprehensive evaluation of labor force availability in the 11 counties of north central Montana. During the summer and fall of 2008, researchers at The University of Montana''s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) surveyed a random sample of adults in Blaine, Cascade, Chouteau, Glacier, Hill, Judith Basin, Liberty, Phillips, Pondera, Teton, and Toole counties to assess the labor force status, availability, training preferences and other characteristics. The purpose of the project was to construct and present a more comprehensive assessment of labor force status and availability than can be obtained from the employment and unemployment statistics gathered regularly by state and federal statistical agencies. The emphasis was on those in the adult labor force who are receptive to new job opportunities. This includes both the under- and the unemployed.

Our basic finding is that there are a substantial number of individuals currently working who report themselves as willing and available for new job opportunities. Statewide, there were almost 261,000 adults who could be classified as available for new job opportunities.

Our basic finding is that the number of workers currently residing in Flathead County who are potentially available for new employment opportunities is substantially larger than official unemployment statistics would suggest. We estimate that as of summer/fall 2008, there were approximately 19,500 individuals, aged 18 or older, who identified themselves as candidates for new job openings. By contrast, the Montana Department of Labor and Industry reports that for September 2008, the most current month available at press time, the number of unemployed individuals in Flathead County was slightly less than 2,200. The wide discrepancy between these two estimates stems from the fact that the available labor pool contains substantial numbers of individuals who are currently employed, but willing to change jobs in response to new opportunities.

There is a large difference between the views of Missoula City residents and residents of Missoula County who live outside the city on the question of which action would improve Valley transportation more: expanding road capacity or improving bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Two-thirds (67.5%) of County residents said expanding road capacity would improve transportation more than improving bicycle and pedestrian facilities. However, city residents were evenly split on the issue. 50.3% said expanding road capacity would result in more improvement, while 49.7% said improving bicycle and pedestrian facilities would improve the system more. Missoula Valley residents displayed little change in 2008 when compared to 2000 in how they travelled to work. Missoula Valley residents transportation mode choice in 2008 for all purposes resembles that of the United States as a whole. However, cold weather during survey administration may have been a confounding factor when examining modes like walking, bicycling, and motorcycle riding.

Conventional wisdom holds that if rural America simply had more jobs to offer, the population and economic declines of the past 40 years would be reversed. However, will throwing large sums of money at rural areas really help turn around the decline of rural communities? First, the underlying foundation of rural communities and economies needs to be understood. Next, recent survey results question the advisability of continuing to spend so much effort and money trying to reverse what may be an inevitable change.