Across the state, business owners and industry organizations are heralding Governor Gianforte’s programs aimed at getting Montanans back to work.
The Governor announced two measures this past week to address the state’s severe workforce shortage and incentivize Montanans to reenter the labor force.
The State of Montana will launch a return-to-work bonus program, utilizing federal funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act. Return-to-work bonuses will be paid to unemployed individuals who rejoin the labor force and accept and maintain steady employment for at least one month.
The governor also announced that the State of Montana will end its participation in federal pandemic-related unemployment benefit programs and transition to pre-pandemic unemployment insurance (UI) eligibility and benefits by the end of June.
Montana will be the first state in the nation to fully opt out of the federal unemployment benefit programs enacted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. What a novel idea, national news media has proclaimed about the Governor’s strategy, “paying people to go to work.”
Gov. Gianforte announced Montana will offer return-to-work bonus incentives and end federal pandemic-related unemployment benefits on June 27.
Requirements that unemployment insurance claimants actively seek work and be “able and available” for work will be reinstated effective June 27, as well.
“Montana is open for business again, but I hear from too many employers throughout our state who can’t find workers. Nearly every sector in our economy faces a labor shortage,” Gov. Gianforte said.
According to Ronda Wiggers, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) 42 percent of Montana small business owners report job openings thy cannot fill – a 48-year record. “NFIB commends and wholeheartedly supports Gov. Greg Gianforte’s innovative efforts to fill the many employment vacancies in our small businesses.”
The Montana Contractor Association (MCA) also applauded the move. MCA Executive Director David Smith said “The weekly federal benefits have hurt contractors, which are in full throttle for summer work. Contractors will train anyone with a strong work ethic, and they will be making $20/hour with benefits almost immediately. We’re ready to hire today.”
With more than $1 billion in public construction work approved by the 67th Legislature, there is no shortage of work available.
“When we bid work now, one of the main risks we have to consider is will we be able to find the people to perform the work,” said Hal Fuglevand, General Manager for Knife River in Billings. “We have declined to bid some jobs this year because we knew we could not find the people.”
“Incentives matter,” Gov. Gianforte said, “and the vast expansion of federal unemployment benefits is now doing more harm than good. We need to incentivize Montanans to reenter the workforce. Our return-to-work bonus and the return to pre-pandemic unemployment programs will help get more Montanans back to work.”
Across Montana, employers are struggle to find workers, particularly in the health care, construction, manufacturing, and hospitality and leisure industries.
Returning to pre-pandemic unemployment eligibility and offering return-to-work incentives will encourage workers to reenter the workforce and help ease a critical labor shortage across Montana.
“Montana’s unemployment rate is at just 3.8 percent – near pre-pandemic lows – and statewide there are record numbers of new job postings each week. But today, despite an influx of new residents into Montana over the last year, our labor force is some 10,000 workers smaller than it was before the pandemic,” Commissioner of Labor and Industry Laurie Esau said. “Our labor shortage doesn’t just affect employers and business owners. Employees who are forced to work longer shifts, serve more customers or clients, and take on more duties have been paying the price.”
Others who stepped up to laud the Governor’s programs include local businessman, Steve Wahrlich, owner of Best Western Plus ClockTower Inn & Stella’s Kitchen and Bakery in Billings: “The biggest problem facing Montana lodging and hospitality business operators is the inability to attract and fill open job positions. We are currently doing the best we can with limited staff, but with peak tourism season just weeks away, we need immediate help.”
Brad Griffin, president of Montana Restaurant Association, said, “We support Governor Gianforte’s bold plan to incentivize people to get back into the workforce. There are thousands of good paying jobs available, and we need all hands on deck to get Montana open for business again. Today’s announcement is definitely a step in the right direction.”
Zachary Bashoor, resource forester at Pyramid Mountain Lumber in Seeley Lake proclaimed, “We have had a difficult time in recent years recruiting trainable workers, so much so that it has forced us to make very expensive upgrades in order to automate positions we could not keep staffed…We have a strong retention record of employees, we just cannot get enough people to walk through our doors. Incentives that deter capable workers from seeking employment has only further narrowed our candidate pool.”
Laura Carden, chief operating/chief financial officer of Wheat Montana Farms & Bakery in Three Forks said, “As we enter the busiest time of the year with what is shaping up to be a record-breaking travel season, finding good help is threatening our ability to recover as a business from the damage done to the economy over the last year. From our retail operations to manufacturing and throughout the supply distribution chain, finding employees has become our biggest challenge. We appreciate Governor Gianforte’s attention to this serious business challenge.”
Paul Hopfauf, director of strategic planning & growth for Montana-Dakota Utilities & chairman of the Montana Chamber of Commerce said that they are experiencing worker shortages across all segments of their Montana businesses operations, especially at our affiliated construction-based businesses, Knife River Corporation and Rocky Mountain Contractors. We appreciate Governor Gianforte recognizing the importance of encouraging people to get back to work especially now as we approach the all-important, but narrow, summer construction season, which is so vital to Montana’s economy.”
Marty Schuma, president of Dick Anderson Construction in Helena said, “We are seeing unprecedented growth in construction demand across Montana as the economy emerges from COVID-19. Our biggest challenge to meeting the demand is a lack of employees across all sectors in our business. We applaud ‘return-to-work’ efforts so we can better meet the construction needs of Montana.”
Kim Latrielle, chief executive officer of the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce also applauded the programs saying it will help “our employers access the pool of talent right here in Montana and bring Missoula-area workers back into our labor force.”
At some of our locations, we will have trucks and equipment parked but no one to drive and operate them,” Fuglevand added. “We are currently recruiting high school seniors who are about to graduate for entry level positions. I do not remember ever doing this.”
In his comments, MCA Executive Director David Smith said that construction looks different today than it did in the past. “Technology is growing faster in construction than any other field, through use of drones, 3D imaging, robotics, and estimating. Young people find it much more interesting than they thought they would.”
Construction laborers earned an average annual salary of $52,000. A year after graduation, apprentices earn an average wage of $58,000 (both union and non-union).
“The number of applications at the beginning of this construction season are about half of what we have seen in previous seasons,” said Hal Fuglevand, VP-General Manager for Knife River in Billings. “In Billings, we have for the last 30 days had a job posting for a laborer position. We just got the first application last week. This position pays over $20/hour plus full benefits paid 100% by Knife River. Normally, we would have seen 20 – 30 applicants for this job.”
Construction was declared an essential industry during the Pandemic – employees in construction were working through the pandemic, earning more than those staying home.
Montana’s Department of Labor & Industry announced the specific changes to the unemployment insurance (UI) program:
* Starting June 27, 2021, claimants who have exhausted their traditional UI benefits but had continued to receive them through the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program will no longer be eligible for UI payments.
* Beginning June 27, 2021 Montana will no longer be issuing supplemental $300 weekly payments to claimants under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program.
* Beginning June 27, 2021, Montana will no longer participate in the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. PUA presently provides benefits to the self-employed, the underemployed, independent contractors, and individuals who have been unable to work due to health or COVID-19 affected reasons.
* Starting June 27, 2021, Montana will no longer participate in the Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) program, which offers supplemental payments to individuals who had both traditional W-2 income as well as self-employment income.
* Requirements that claimants be able to work, available for work, and actively seeking work in order to be considered eligible for benefits will be reinstated effective June 27, 2021. These requirements had previously been suspended under emergency rule-making authority in March of last year. More information about work-search and “able & available” requirements is available in the UI Claimants handbook.
Unemployment insurance claimants will be receiving information soon about how these changes affect them individually. Until then, claimants with questions about their future eligibility are encouraged to visit MontanaWorks.gov or contact the Department of Labor & Industry at 406-444-2545. Claimants receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) should contact 406-444-3382.
The Return-to-Work Bonus initiative will offer $1,200 payments to individuals receiving unemployment benefits as of May 4, 2021, who subsequently accept employment and complete at least four paid weeks of work. Individuals eligible for the bonus will be contacted by the Department of Labor and Industry and informed of their eligibility, as well as more information about how to ensure they receive the payment after they complete four weeks of employment.
