Consortium Led by Montana Receives National Innovation Award for Labor Data Analysis Tool

WASHINGTON – This week at the National Association of State Workforce Agencies’ (NASWA) 2019 Winter Policy Forum in Washington, D.C., a consortium led by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry received the prestigious Data Insights and Innovations award, presented by the NASWA Workforce and Labor Market Information Committee. This award is bestowed upon a state demonstrating excellence and innovation in the area of labor market information.

Montana’s Department of Labor & Industry received the award for leading a consortium of states in pooling resources to create the LMInformer, an online labor market data information tool completely controlled by each state, which produces high-quality, state-specific analytics. Other states involved in the consortium include Nevada, Arkansas, Virginia, Michigan, and Ohio. Absent this collaborative effort, each of these states would have incurred higher costs to produce their own unique labor market information analytical tools.

“As states cope with dwindling resources to conduct and publicly distribute labor market data analysis, innovative practices are crucial for states to retain the ability to produce high-quality labor market analytical tools, said Scott B. Sanders, Executive Director of NASWA. “These innovations are vital for economic and workforce development stakeholders to have the capability to make educated decisions to keep our economy and labor market thriving,”

“Montana is proud to be recognized for leading this consortium and ensuring the platform is customized to meet each states’ unique needs,” said Annette Miller, a bureau chief at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. “The LMInformer is saving members hundreds of thousands of dollars while producing high-quality labor market data.”

For more information about NASWA’s Winter Policy Forum, visit https://www.naswa.org/conferences/winter-policy-forum-2019, and for more information about NASWA’s Workforce and Labor Market Information Committee, visit www.naswa.org.

(Pictured L to R are Bruce Madson, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services; Jason Palmer, Michigan Talent Investment Agency; Annette Miller, Montana Department of Labor & Industry;  Ellen Marie Hess, Virginia Employment Commission; Jon S. Pierpont, NASWA Board President and Executive Director of the Utah Department of Workforce Services)