Montana wages will be
topic of BBER seminar
Fifty years ago when UM's Bureau of Business and Economic Research started monitoring the state's economy, Montana was ranked 10th in per capita income. Today, as the bureau celebrates its 50th anniversary, Montana's per capita income has fallen to 48th in the nation.

Montana's average annual earnings per worker are about $24,000, ahead of Arkansas and West Virginia and well below the U.S. average of $34,000. Within the state, transportation and communication workers earn about $29,000 annually, while service and retail trade workers earn about $19,000 and $14,000 respectively. What does this mean for Montana, and what can Montanans do about it?

This year the bureau's economic outlook seminar will examine the pay decline, looking specifically at the shifts in Montana's employment base. Stephen Seninger, BBER's director of economic analysis, also will discuss current and past trends in jobs and wages and the outlook for working and earning a "living wage" in Montana.

A panel of experts will relate such trends to specific industries, including agriculture, forest products, manufacturing and tourism.

The seminar, titled "Work and Pay in Montana," will be held Jan. 26 at Helena's Colonial Inn; Jan. 27 at the Great Falls Holiday Inn; Jan. 29 at the Missoula Holiday Inn Parkside; Feb. 2 at the Billings Radisson Northern Hotel; Feb. 3 at the Bozeman Holiday Inn; Feb. 4 at Butte's Ramada Inn Copper King; Feb. 9 at Cavanaugh's in Kalispell; April 6 at the Sidney Elk's Lodge; and April 7 at Miles City's Town and Country Club.

Registration for the seminar is $70 and includes a one-year membership to BBER's Montana Business Quarterly. For more information or to register, call (406) 243-5113 or visit BBER's Web site at http://www.bber.umt.edu.

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