The state Department of Labor and Industry recorded a loss of 300 jobs in the past year, making this the first time since 1987 that Montana has faced an overall decline in jobs. Paul Polzin, director of the Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research, said the state might have to brace for more bad news in the future, as the Department of Labor's report does not include the recent 467 positions lost from the July closure of a Montana sawmill or the additional elimination of 330 jobs expected in August with the shutdown of one of Kalispell's largest employers. Montana's decrease since last year means that the state now joins the national trend of decreasing jobs that has been in place since July 2001.
—Benjamin Knelman
