Employers looking for employees, Montana looking for answers
Jordan Hansen
(Daily Montanan) Out of 100,000 Montanans not working, about 10,400 are not looking for a job, and the state’s looking for answers as to why, a new study says.
Earlier this month, the state released its “Montanans for Hire?” study from the Montana Department of Labor and Industries. The agency said it is using “analytics and survey data” to pursue additional research on the issue.
“Engaging the non-working population in the labor force may be a key component to address the state’s persistent workforce shortage,” the study reads.
About 100,000 Montanans from the ages of 16 to 54 are not working, with the report putting the total number of people aged 16 years or older and not working at 350,000. There are 560,000 Montanans over age 16 who are actively employed, which the study calls a “record high.” Despite that, though, there is still a need for more workers.
“The demand for workers still outstrips the supply — with 1.6 job openings for every one unemployed person,” the study reads. “Tight labor markets have increased competition for workers and driven up wages.”
It goes on to say the state’s labor market is “persistently tight.”
Gov. Greg Gianforte recently signed an executive order looking to address labor shortages in the state. During a press conference for that order, Gianforte said he often speaks with business owners, who tell him their number one impediment to business growth is workforce.
“We have a tight labor market, one of the lowest,” Gianforte said. “Best opportunities we have is this, these people that are in Montana. They’re Montanans, but they’re not participating in the labor force. Today, we want to build bridges for them, for their benefit and the employers.”
The Montana Department of Labor and Industry report found 34% of the 100,000 people in the age 16 to 54 bracket aren’t working due to school, while an additional 31% can’t work because they are caring for family. Another 19% are sick or disabled, and 10% are retired.
Montana’s population is around 1.1 million people.
Child care is a major barrier, which the study notes. Legislation brought during the 2025 Legislative session sought to address this issue, including House Bill 924. That legislation created a trust that, among other things, puts money toward childcare.
However, a bill from Rep. Jonathan Karlen, D-Missoula, that would have made child care workers eligible for the Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship for their own kids was vetoed by Gianforte earlier this summer, who argued the bill was costly and not as effective as other tools.
“We have people that want to work in childcare, that can’t afford to work in childcare, and then we have businesses that are trying to recruit employees, but those employees can’t find childcare,” Karlen said Friday.
He also pointed at Medicaid provider rates as a barrier and said he’s seen some nursing homes close doors.
“If somebody who would be best taken care of in an assisted living in a nursing facility isn’t able to be there, that puts a huge burden on the worker who’s going to have to presumably take fewer hours or not work,” Karlen said.
The study says that in the last 25 years, the Montana Department of Labor and Industries has trained 190 workers through its apprenticeship program.
The study spent some time examining the elder workforce, and it says there are more people aged 55 to 64 years old in the labor force now than five years ago. Montana has the seventh-largest share of the population at retirement age among states, the report noted.
Most Montanans actively seeking work are unemployed for only a short period of time, the study says. There were about 17,000 people in that population last year and 74% were unemployed for 15 weeks or less.
Only about 1,500 of those actively seeking employment spent over a year looking.