Montana Surpasses Job Creation Goal in 2021

Governor Greg Gianforte today announced that Montana exceeded his goal for adding good-paying jobs to the economy in 2021, which he set at the beginning of last year.

Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) data show the state added just under 13,000 jobs paying over $50,000 in 2021, easily surpassing the governor’s goal of 10,000.

“From day one, I set an ambitious goal for job creation across Montana, and I’m pleased to announce we’ve not only met that goal, but also exceeded it by nearly 30%,” Gov. Gianforte said.

“We got there by cutting red tape and other unnecessary burdens on job creators, attracting new cutting-edge businesses to bring good-paying jobs to Montana, and investing in our workforce to ensure Montana workers have the skills they need,” the governor continued. “We’re just getting started, and we’ll stay focused on creating more good-paying jobs and greater opportunity for all Montanans.”

DLI analysis of unemployment insurance (UI) payroll records indicates the state ended the fourth quarter of 2021 with 145,462 jobs paying over $50,000 a year, a gain of 12,982 jobs from the end of 2020. Much of the good-paying job growth came in the second and fourth quarters of 2021, with gains of 5,400 jobs and 5,335 jobs, respectively.

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