• While overall employment in the State of Montana increased 9.11% between 1997 and 2002, employment within the construction industry rose by 24.37%, creating 4,410 new construction jobs as well as creating 573 new construction establishments in 5 years.

• While the average worker in Montana brought home $24,117 in pay in 2002, the state’s construction workers made on average $29,257, an increase of 17.57% more than the average worker in Montana. 

• Construction workers in Montana saw a salary increase of 18.83% from 1997-2002, compared to the average salary increase construction workers across the United States, which increased by 14.97%. 

• The number of businesses in Montana grew from 25,974 in 1997 to 28,258 in 2002, an increase of 8.79%.  Construction establishments in Montana however, increased by 16.60% from 3,452 in 1997 to 4,025 in 2002.

• Of the 2,284 new businesses established between 1997 and 2002 in Montana, 573 or 25.09% of those establishments were in the construction industry0.

• According to Union Membership and Coverage Database, available at www.unionstats.com, in 2006, only 8.7 percent of Montana’s private construction workforce belonged to a construction trade union.  That means that approximately 92 out of 100 Montana’s private construction workers do not belong to a labor union.

Data are from the U.S. Bureau of the Census except where noted.

• The dollar threshold amount for contract coverage under state prevailing wage laws in Montana is $25,000.