Help Wanted Ads Go Unanswered in West

John Francis, who owns the McDonald's in Sidney, Mont., poses for a photo in front a sign he is using to attract potential new employees, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2007. Francis found himself outsourcing the drive-thru window to a Texas telemarketing firm, not because it's cheaper but because he can't find workers. Record low unemployment across parts of the West has created tough working conditions for business owners, who in places are being forced to boost wages or be creative to fill their jobs. (AP Photo/Ellen Wznick) (Ellen Wznick - AP)

"This is the tightest market I have ever seen," said Salty Payne, who has worked in the Helena City human resource office for 15 years.

Payne in part blames the area's building boom, which is drawing workers to construction trades that are offering higher salaries.

Montana state lawmaker Art Noonan lives in the mining town of Butte _ the epicenter of a big mining bust 20 years ago. Now, more people are moving in to build second homes and high paying jobs are coming back as copper prices go up.

"All of these things are sort of clicking at the same time," Noonan said. "The only economic development we used to get was the creation of more economic development offices."

In Utah _ where unemployment rates have been hovering around 2.5 percent _ amusement parks, trucking companies, telemarketing firms and others have been paying bonuses of hundreds of dollars or more to find workers.

"It boils down to the attractiveness of the (interior) West," said Mark Knold, chief economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services. "It is a population magnet."

And workers have benefited. Utah workers saw a 5.4 percent average wage increase in 2006, Knold said.

But questions remain about how long the West can weather the problems that come with low unemployment.

"The hardest thing is to keep the economy growing at a strong rate when you have a low unemployment rate," he said. "Take a company that wants to expand. Where is the next worker going to come from?"