Climbing Montana’s Economic Ladder

At 24, Kayla Stinger is a single mother going to school and working a full-time job.

Fortunately, she found work in the health care industry, which pays better-than-average wages, and two years ago she decided to try to improve her and her daughter’s life by adding new job skills. She enrolled at Flathead Valley Community College and has attended classes during the week and worked the night shift as a nurse at North Valley Hospital in Whitefish from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

“It’s been a battle and it’s been a daze because I don’t get a day off,” she said. “It’s tough because I miss a lot with (my daughter) Kwynn. I’m still there for her but I feel absent.”

This May, Stinger will graduate with an associate’s degree in surgical technology, which she hopes will help her find a career that supports her and her daughter in the long-term.

Stinger’s story is a familiar one in the Flathead Valley, where wages are the second lowest in a state already plagued by some of the lowest paying jobs in the U.S.

According to the latest data, Montana ranks 47th in the U.S. for average wages, behind only Mississippi, Idaho and South Dakota. A decade ago, Montana ranked last.

Efforts to improve the wage situation have made progress, as the state’s wage growth has outpaced the national average for the last 10 years, signaling economic growth and an increase in the standard of living for working Montanans.

But the problem remains far from solved.

“We keep hearing from employees about wages being so low,” Bill Nelson, manager of the Flathead Job Service, said. “It’s a battle we’ve been fighting for a long time. It’s embarrassing, really. We talk a lot about losing our workforce. Our young people go to college here and then go out of state to find good jobs.”

The average hourly wage for all occupations in Montana was $18.79 an hour and $39,090 annually in 2014, according to Montana Department of Labor and Industry data. The Flathead Valley has the second lowest average wages in the state by region — $17.79 per hour and $37,000 annually.

Economists cite several reasons for Montana’s struggles. For starters, rural states tend to struggle with this problem worse than metropolitan areas where large corporate headquarters and other big businesses build up a solid foundation for the economy.

There’s also something economists call the “window tax,” which references the high quality of life that scenic places like Western Montana offer.

“It’s an actual thing. People are willing to take a discount on their wages to live in a place like this,” said Brad Eldredge, a former economist and the current director of institutional research, assessment and planning at FVCC.

The types of industries in the labor market also play a role. Places such as the Gallatin Valley are seeing higher wage gains due to a growth in technology jobs, which tend to pay more.

On the other hand, some of the lowest paying jobs, on average, are in food service, accommodations and retail, which are large sectors in the Flathead Valley.

Slight improvements do continue to be made, though.

“Wage growth has occurred across all wage classes, suggesting the standard of living has improved for all Montanans regardless of their income level,” Amy Watson, an economist, wrote in the January economic outlook report for the state’s labor department. “As a percentage, wages have been growing the fastest for people in the lowest wage class.”

An improving economy can help spark wage growth, as employers need to remain competitive and offer higher salaries to attract employees.

In recent years the local economy has bounced back with some of the best job growth in the state. The Flathead Job Service in Kalispell reported over 500 job orders in February.

“In comparison, in the depths of the recession, there were months in the winter in 2011 when we might have 40 jobs posted,” Nelson said. “To exceed 500, to us that’s a good sign.”

Nelson said the jobs are in a variety of fields, reflecting the overall improvement of the county’s economy.

But as these jobs sit vacant, the question emerges: Why isn’t the labor force quickly snatching them up?

Besides low wages, another common message that Nelson frequently hears is that employers are having a hard time finding employees with proper training or skills. For example, manufacturing companies need employees who know how to work the necessary machinery. This is where FVCC has emerged as a vital partner in helping retrain the workforce, adding programs that are relevant to the local economy.

“If you improve the education level, that will raise all boats,” Eldredge said. “Not only will folks who used to be making low wages start to earn higher wages, but there will be less low-wage people to go around.”

This is the strategy Stinger took. She frequently encourages and advocates for other single, working moms, sharing her story with them as inspiration.

“I talk to other working moms and I tell them, ‘It’s tough but you’re going to feel great at the end of it when you accomplishment your goal,’” Stinger said. “What I see for me and Kwynn in the future will definitely outweigh what I have going on right now.”