Sarah Swanson, Montana’s commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry, presented a broad overview of the agency’s work and policy priorities to the Senate Business and Labor and Economic Affairs Committee at the panel’s organizational meeting.

Swanson told senators the department is “mission focused on empowering Montanans through work and opportunity” and described a multi-pronged plan that includes technology modernizations, occupational licensing reforms and expanded workforce training. “We deploy approximately $160,000,000 per year of the biennium,” she said, and the agency is “authorized at the Department of Labor for 747 total FTE” while reporting 656 staff on board.

Swanson said the agency’s 2025 budget proposal reduces base spending and would “completely eliminate the agency's use of general fund dollars,” meaning the department would operate without income-tax dollars by using existing state special revenue and federal funds. She said that would be achieved through operational efficiencies, technology modernization and process changes rather than hiring increases.

The commissioner highlighted three core agency goals for the session: grow Montana’s labor force by making training and career pathways more accessible; continue to achieve real wage growth; and realize operational efficiencies so services can be delivered at lower cost. She detailed programs and initiatives the department oversees, including the workforce service division (18 regional job service offices), the unemployment insurance modernization (MUSE) and the Employ Montana portal rollout. Swanson said the MUSE upgrade cut the average time for a claimant to file a weekly unemployment claim from more than 30 minutes to about 3½ minutes.

Swanson described the department’s workforce partnerships and metrics: the agency served more than 1,000 workers with training supports in 2024, supported 1,300 youth through the Jobs for Montana’s Graduates program, and helped 103 businesses train 282 incumbent workers. She said Montana’s unemployment count that week was 7,448 claimants and that Montana’s average wage was “just over $58,000 per year.”

On apprenticeship and youth training, Swanson said Montana has trained more than 13,700 apprentices since 2000 and that apprentices who complete the program earn substantially more than non-apprentice peers. The department planned to expand registered apprenticeship and sector-based training: “In 2024, 46 of Montana's 56 counties had active registered apprenticeship programs,” she said.

Swanson also described the department’s new tribal liaison office and a tribal youth engagement coordinator to increase access for tribal nations. She said the department “is not bringing back House Bill 152” but will propose “small single-issue proposals” intended to streamline processes and increase capacity without large staffing requests.

State Workforce Innovation Board director Jennifer Owen, who appeared remotely, said SWIB will share a strategic framework aligned to priorities the governor will review; SWIB will press for statewide replication of successful local workforce models.

Committee members asked questions about the department’s plan to remove general fund dependency, contractor registration and enforcement during disaster responses, and workforce metrics for tribal economies. Swanson said current law requires contractor registration but offers no state enforcement authority and indicated she expected legislation this session to address enforcement gaps.

Swanson offered to provide the committee’s staff a copy of the agency’s presentation and handouts. The department’s briefing provided legislators context for multiple bills and likely budget requests to be discussed during the session.