HELENA, MT. - The owner of a fast food restaurant in Montana's booming oil patch found himself outsourcing the drive-thru window to a Texas telemarketing firm, not because it's cheaper but because he can't find workers.
Record low unemployment across parts of the West has created tough working conditions for business owners, who in places are being forced to boost wages or be creative to fill their jobs.
John Francis, who owns the McDonald's in Sidney, Mont., said he tried advertising in the local newspaper and even offered up to $10 an hour to compete with higher-paying oil field jobs. Yet the only calls were from other business owners upset they would have to raise wages, too.
Unemployment rates have been as low as 2 percent this year in places like Montana, and nearly as low in neighboring states.
It has been a steady climb in the nearly two decades since the timber and mining industry recession. Montana approached double-digit unemployment levels in the 1980s and began the slow crawl back in the early 1990s.
"This is actually the biggest economic story of our time, and we don't quite grasp it because it is 15 years in the making," said economist Larry Swanson, director of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana.
The U.S. Department of Labor reports the mountain West region has the lowest overall unemployment rate in the nation. The region hit an all-time low of 3.4 percent in May.
Economists say there are a number of reasons why parts of the West are feeling the labor pinch.
Established baby boomers, including retirees, have been moving into Montana for the mountain views and recreation, bringing with them money for new homes that fuel construction job growth, said Swanson.
Younger people have moved away searching for bigger paychecks as the state's wages still lag behind other areas and are slowly increasing overall. Now, the aging work force is unable to meet the demands of the job market, Swanson said.
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