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A crisis is brewing in Montana and across the country for retiring business owners in their 60s and 70s ? who will take over their businesses?

The future is here ? the United States census is moving online to save money and make participation easier. Find out what?s in store, why the census is important and how Montana has changed since the last census in 2010.

The Gallatin County economy has been on an economic roller coaster since the onset of the Great Recession in 2008. The Bozeman-area economy experienced a significant contraction early in the recession. But the economy began to turn around in 2010 and has continued upward ever since. In fact, Gallatin County is one of only two major urban areas in the state (the other being Yellowstone County) to significantly exceed the statewide growth rates during the recovery phase of this business cycle.

The Helena economy has traditionally been non-cyclic because of its dependence of state and federal government. The data corresponding to the Great Recession certainly confirm this notion. Lewis and Clark County was one of the very few urban areas in Montana which did not have at least one year of decline during the last decade.

Economic growth in Missoula?s economy has been frustratingly slow. After three straight years of decline during the Great Recession, the Missoula economy turned upward in 2011. But the growth rates have been have been anemic. The Missoula economy expanded about 1.5 percent per year in 2012 and 2013, as compared to 3 percent to 4 percent annual growth before the recession.

Recent economic statistics demonstrate Ravalli County?s economy is slowly emerging from the downturn experienced in the Great Recession.

The Yellowstone County economy continues to benefit from the indirect impacts of the Bakken oil field developments on the Montana- North Dakota line. Even though Billings is more than 300 miles and five hours driving time from the epicenter of the drilling activity in Williston, North Dakota, it is an attractive location for the indirect and service activities associated with the oil boom. A number of North Dakota cities are closer to Williston, but at best they have roughly half of the population of Yellowstone County. This means that industries such as finance, wholesale trade, and professional services are probably much larger and have more depth and resources in Billings than in the North Dakota cities.

Until about 10 years ago, Richland County has enjoyed a relatively stable and prosperous economy based on agriculture, food processing, and a utility company. Then technological advances enabled the extraction of crude oil, which was previously uneconomic. It has been dubbed the ?unconventional energy revolution.?

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 federal government plays an important role in the national and state economies, having spent more than $3 trillion throughout the U.S., and almost $11 billion in Montana in fiscal year 2010. Federal spending varies significantly by state and may be thought of as influenced by politics, but in fact it is more influenced by economics and demographics.

The number of home-based workers usually is outside the normal labor information stream, but the American Community Survey asks people how they get to work. This question provides information on commute time and place of work and determines whether people are home-based workers.

How rich or poor are Americans? Where do they work, and what training do they have for their jobs? What languages do they speak? The American Community Survey is an ongoing survey that provides answers to questions like these and gives communities the current information they need to plan investments and services.

Census Bureau population estimates are used for allocating more than $400 billion to various political entities and to determine eligibility for many social programs. So how accurate are the estimates?

Montana''s 2010 population of 989,415 shows an increase of 9.7 percent since 2000, bringing an addition of just more than 87,000 people to the state.

A press release explaining that between the 2000 and 2010 Census many Montana communities saw increases in population. However, in some cases these shifts were because of changes in geographic boundaries as well as population growth.

Vacation homes are a major part of several Montana communities, and the numbers have increased; however, most of the growth occurred before the recession. Sales of vacation homes have been nearly nonexistent the last couple of years.

As Americans age, their likelihood of migrating, their reasons for moving, and their destination choices shift dramatically. Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are entering a stage when moves to rural locales increase, especially to areas with scenic amenities and lower housing costs.

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.

The U.S. Census Bureau is using flawed methodology to produce population estimates at the sub-county level. For Montana, this means the growth of some rural communities is underestimated by as much as 400 percent, while the growth of more urban areas is significantly overestimated. Because population estimates are used to determine over $300 billion in federal funding as well as important policy choices, inaccurate data have significant implications for Montana communities. As chairman of the Federal State Population Cooperative Program for Population Estimates, author James T. Sylvester is working to correct the problem. He explains why the current method doesn''t work in Montana and offers solutions to provide more accurate data.

Using the new Census data, this article examines population statistics and trends in Montana, providing an overall look at counties that have grown, as well as those that have declined. While the state?s population has increased from 2000 to 2005, it has not grown as much as the period from 1990 to 1995.