“Over the last five years, what’s been striking is that the Montana’s economy has diversified,” said Dan Lloyd, business development specialist at the Montana Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “We are a state rich in natural resources, but we are starting to see the shift.” …
Montana, and the U.S. for that matter, is shifting from a resources-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, which means communities may need to look for new ways to attract businesses.
“In traditional resources economies, businesses locate where the resources are,” said Lloyd. But in a knowledge economy, he continued, it’s based on the workforce.
“We have a quality of life (and) people want to live here,” said Lloyd. “We are seeing the shift to a knowledge economy, a service economy,” he added. “We are seeing companies conduct their businesses online. People aren’t just manufacturing widgets, they are sending bits and bytes out, it’s digital.” …
In our knowledge-based economy, “economic growth is really related to labor force.” Continued investment in our education infrastructure “ensures everything from K-12 to community colleges to 4 year universities to give people the skills they need in the 21st century,” said Lloyd. … Rest