Lewis and Clark County outlook: a new source of growth.

• Author: Polzin, Paul E.
• Position: Statistical data

The Helena economy has traditionally been non-cyclic because of its dependence of state and federal government. The data corresponding to the Great Recession certainly confirm this notion. Lewis and Clark County was one of the very few urban areas in Montana which did not have at least one year of decline during the last decade.

This stability is illustrated by the data for state government and the federal government, the No. 1 and No. 2 basic industries. Our indicator of industry performance (inflation-adjusted earnings of workers) for state government in 2013 was almost identical (within 0. 5 percent) to its value in 2008. Similarly, the corresponding value for the federal government in 2013 was only 1 percent lower than in 2008.

The real bright spot in the Lewis and Clark County economy has been the expansion of the Boeing Company, which is located near the airport. Technically, this facility is categorized in "Other Transportation Equipment," which is part of manufacturing. Beginning in 2010, there has been significant growth, and this industry is now three times larger than just a few years ago. On the negative side, mining is facing a difficult future because of worldwide commodity price trends. The Drumlummon mine near Marysville mine laid-off most of its workers in mid-2013 due to the dropping price of gold.

The Helena-area economy experienced slow growth in 2013 and 2014. The forecasts are that growth will be about 1.8 percent to 2.3 percent per year from 2015 to 2018, which is below the statewide average. Since state and federal governments account for almost 70 percent of Lewis and Clark County's economic base, the reason for the slow...