Economic outlook for Libby still gloomy
by Duane Williams, KLCB-KTNY Radio
August 17, 2010
We all know the local Libby and Lincoln County economy is bad, but just how bad?
According to University of Montana economists, recovery in Montana could take a decade or more!
The economists say tourism and natural resources industries will be the first to recover, with housing construction and housing markets seeing a slow recovery. They say unemployment is up, consumer confidence is down, and housing is sluggish to say the least. Half of the unemployed, say the economists, have been unemployed for at least six months. Home prices will hurt the housing market, they say.
Overall, the outlook is grim. Missoula County may rebound by 2011, but Flathead not until 2018, and Sanders County not until 2032. Figures for Lincoln County were not available, but with Sanders County’s similarities to Lincoln County, one might project recovery not coming to Lincoln County for two decades…twenty years, 2032, or later.
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Story by Duane Williams, KLCB-KTNY Radio, www.todaysbestcountryonline.com, e-mail: klcb@frontiernet.net.
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