Roughly 70 percent of businesses surveyed in the Flathead Valley believe the economic climate will improve through the end of the year, according to the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce.
Responding to a midyear survey conducted by the chamber late last month, 116 businesses, or 69.9 percent of the 171 that answered, predicted a positive finish to 2012. From that survey, 50 businesses, or almost 30 percent, said they were likely to add employees through the final months of the year and 61 percent planned to maintain current staffing levels.
The optimistic response echoes what the largest independent employment staffing agency in the state is witnessing in the Flathead Valley.
Heidi Wallace, operations manager at LC Staffing, said the current job market has double or triple the opportunities than in years past. There has been a noticeable uptick in small businesses needing employees.
“That’s encouraging,” she said.
During the recession, LC Staffing saw the number of available jobs drop while available applicants increased, leading to a consistently high unemployment rate. The pendulum is now swinging back, Wallace said, and it reflects a sense of optimism among businesses that are ready to grow.
Among the job placements to noticeably increase are clerical and hospitality positions, as well as positions in engineering and IT, according to LC Staffing. Businesses are searching for more staff, especially during the peak tourism season, including office managers, accountants and receptionists, Wallace said. The health care industry remains a stalwart employer and manufacturing started strong this spring and continues to add employees.
Economists recently presented their midyear update report from the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research, which analyzes local and state economies and business trends throughout the year. The report says the state’s overall economy is continuing to climb out of the recession though the national economy has a far more uncertain fate.
According to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey included in the UM report, there is hesitance within the business community stemming from concerns over possible tax hikes and energy costs along with continued opposition to the Affordable Care Act. The report says there is also widespread fear that the country is heading toward a so-called “fiscal cliff” in early 2013, when Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire and severe federal budget cuts could occur. Adding more uncertainty is the national election three months away, according to the chamber survey.
The U.S. economy added 163,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in July, compared to 64,000 in June, according to the Labor Department. July’s growth was larger than previously expected. Yet the unemployment rate still grew slightly, from 8.2 percent to 8.3. According to a recent story in the New York Times, the national economy now produces more goods and services than it did in December 2007, when the downturn officially began. However there are currently almost five million fewer jobs, the story said.
Economists say Montana is positioned to continue rebounding, albeit gradually. Counties in the east have recovered faster thanks to the Bakken oil boom while Northwest Montana has seen slower improvements. The energy boom, however, continues to expand farther west into Montana.
Through the first half of the year state tax withholding amounts saw a rapid increase, reflecting improvements in income and unemployment claims from last year. The housing market is healing and prices are beginning to settle into place. Retail trade has been one of the weakest sectors across the state and is slowly recovering along with the wood products industry. Economists predict no significant uptick in construction until possibly 2013.
Economists with UM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research predict Flathead County will experience a roughly 2 percent growth in actual nonfarm earnings annually for the next three years. Flathead County suffered a 9.9 percent decrease in 2009. Last year’s nonfarm earnings increased 1.2 percent.
“Confidence is recovering almost everywhere, except about the national economy,” said Webb Brown, president of the Montana Chamber of Commerce. “But we are continuing to see a gradual recovery.”
For more information about the BBER’s midyear update, visit www.bber.umt.edu.