Labor Report: Jobs Outlook Good Through 2015

State officials say Montana ranks in the top five states for employment growth, but it faces slower growth in the future as an aging workforce retires.

The Department of Labor and Industry's Labor Day report released Friday shows that since the start of 2014, about 12,000 jobs have been added in the state. Montana Labor and Industry Commissioner Pam Bucy says that number puts the state on pace for record-breaking employment growth this year.

The report also says the unemployment rate has dropped steadily since 2010. Currently at 4.6 percent, it's the 11th lowest in the nation.

Businesses will need to make investments so workers can increase their productivity, the report says, in order to counteract worker shortages and slower job growth after 2015.