Economist says Billings won't see worst of the recession

A Montana economist said this morning that low unemployment and other positive economic signs will help Billings weather the national recession.

"Right now, Billings is almost one of the best places to be in the United States," Larry Swanson said during the Celebrate Billings Community Leadership breakfast at Montana Sate University-Billings. In response, 300 people attending the breakfast broke into enthusiastic applause.

Swanson, director of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana, said Montana has avoided the worst of the economic crisis. Foreclosures brought on by the subprime mortgage meltdown are almost nonexistent in Montana. So far, job losses have been less severe here than in other states, he said.

Economists agree the nation's economy slipped into recession one year ago, and the slowdown could last into 2010. Swanson didn't dispute that Montana is beginning to feel the effects of the slowdown. The state's unemployment rate climbed above 4 percent in the fourth quarter of this year, but it remains lower than it was at the beginning of the decade. By comparison, some national economists are projecting that the nation's unemployment rate could climb to as high as 10 percent before the recession wanes, he said.