The Research & Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services reported today that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 5.4% in February to 5.3% in March. Wyoming’s jobless rate has decreased for seven consecutive months and is significantly lower than the current U.S. rate of 8.2%. Seasonally adjusted employment of Wyoming residents was basically unchanged from February to March, but increased significantly from a year earlier (a gain of 5,532 individuals, or 1.9%).
Most county unemployment rates remained fairly stable from February to March. Jobless rates edged upward in Big Horn (up from 6.6% to 7.0%) and Sublette (up from 3.2% to 3.5%) counties while decreasing slightly in Johnson (down from 7.8% to 7.3%), Platte (down from 6.5% to 6.1%), Hot Springs (down from 5.3% to 5.0%), and Fremont (down from 7.4% to 7.1%) counties.
Sublette County reported the lowest jobless rate in March (3.5%). It was followed by Campbell (4.6%), Albany (4.7%), and Converse (4.8%) counties. The highest unemployment rates were found in Lincoln (8.9%), Johnson (7.3%), and Sheridan (7.2%) counties.
Compared to a year earlier, unemployment rates fell in most counties, suggesting modest improvement in the state’s economy. The largest decreases occurred in Johnson (down from 9.0% to 7.3%), Big Horn (down from 8.6% to 7.0%), and Natrona (down from 6.6% to 5.3%) counties.
Total nonfarm employment (measured by place of work) increased from 278,000 in March 2011 to 280,400 in March 2012, a gain of 2,400 jobs (0.9%).
Research & Planning has scheduled the April employment news release for May 22, 2012.
Civilian Labor Force, Employment and Unemployment--by place of residence
Unemployed Unemployment
Labor Force Employment Number Rate
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Mar Feb Mar Mar Feb Mar Mar Feb Mar Mar Feb Mar
COUNTY 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2011 2012 2012 2011
__________ (p) (r) (b) (p) (r) (b) (p) (r) (b) (p) (r) (b)
Albany 20,969 21,031 20,674 19,981 20,059 19,644 988 972 1,030 4.7 4.6 5.0
Big Horn 5,194 5,048 4,978 4,830 4,713 4,549 364 335 429 7.0 6.6 8.6
Campbell 27,728 27,934 28,112 26,454 26,685 26,693 1,274 1,249 1,419 4.6 4.5 5.0
Carbon 7,596 7,515 7,851 7,087 7,008 7,260 509 507 591 6.7 6.7 7.5
Converse 7,862 7,858 7,750 7,486 7,477 7,348 376 381 402 4.8 4.8 5.2
Crook 3,496 3,405 3,479 3,285 3,200 3,273 211 205 206 6.0 6.0 5.9
Fremont 19,819 19,704 19,826 18,405 18,238 18,234 1,414 1,466 1,592 7.1 7.4 8.0
Goshen 6,546 6,429 6,511 6,154 6,038 6,100 392 391 411 6.0 6.1 6.3
Hot Springs 2,575 2,532 2,617 2,446 2,398 2,471 129 134 146 5.0 5.3 5.6
Johnson 3,907 3,777 3,908 3,623 3,484 3,555 284 293 353 7.3 7.8 9.0
Laramie 45,822 46,110 45,358 42,768 43,017 42,057 3,054 3,093 3,301 6.7 6.7 7.3
Lincoln 8,105 8,110 8,362 7,381 7,396 7,520 724 714 842 8.9 8.8 10.1
Natrona 43,574 43,750 42,917 41,275 41,403 40,083 2,299 2,347 2,834 5.3 5.4 6.6
Niobrara 1,270 1,189 1,259 1,207 1,130 1,196 63 59 63 5.0 5.0 5.0
Park 14,894 14,671 14,316 13,840 13,651 13,233 1,054 1,020 1,083 7.1 7.0 7.6
Platte 4,157 4,012 4,268 3,902 3,750 4,001 255 262 267 6.1 6.5 6.3
Sheridan 16,264 16,152 16,315 15,099 14,980 14,975 1,165 1,172 1,340 7.2 7.3 8.2
Sublette 8,266 8,262 7,281 7,977 7,994 6,976 289 268 305 3.5 3.2 4.2
Sweetwater 25,463 25,460 25,264 24,168 24,191 23,857 1,295 1,269 1,407 5.1 5.0 5.6
Teton 12,824 12,949 12,630 11,979 12,104 11,718 845 845 912 6.6 6.5 7.2
Uinta 10,684 10,695 11,144 10,061 10,076 10,416 623 619 728 5.8 5.8 6.5
Washakie 4,351 4,326 4,408 4,066 4,044 4,105 285 282 303 6.6 6.5 6.9
Weston 3,296 3,289 3,332 3,105 3,095 3,114 191 194 218 5.8 5.9 6.5
Statewide 304,664 304,210 302,561 286,581 286,130 282,378 18,083 18,080 20,183 5.9 5.9 6.7
Statewide Seasonally Adjusted........................................................ 5.3 5.4 6.1
U.S.................................................................................. 8.4 8.7 9.2
U.S. Seasonally Adjusted............................................................. 8.2 8.3 8.9
(p) Preliminary, (r) Revised, (b) Benchmarked
Wyoming Seasonally Adjusted Statewide Labor Force Estimates
Change
Month Year
Mar-12 Feb-12 Mar-11 absolute percent absolute percent
Total Civilian Labor Force 307,139 307,245 303,736 -106 0.0% 3,403 1.1%
Employed 290,834 290,804 285,302 30 0.0% 5,532 1.9%
Unemployed 16,305 16,441 18,434 -136 -0.8% -2,129 -11.5%
Unemployment Rate 5.3 5.4 6.1
| Definitions: | |
| Employed | All persons who, during the reference week, did any work at all as paid employees, worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in a family business. |
| Unemployed | All persons who had no employment during the reference week, were available for work, and had made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference week. |
| Labor Force | All persons who meet the criteria given above as either employed or unemployed. |
| Unemployment Rate | The number of unemployed as a percent of the labor force. |
| Seasonal Adjustment | A statistical procedure to remove the impact of normal regularly recurring events (such as weather, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools) from economic time series to better understand changes in economic conditions from month to month. |
Current Employment Statistics (CES) Estimates and Research & Planning's Short-Term Projections, March 2012
Industry Sector Current Employment
Research & Planning's Statistics (CES) N %
Short-Term Projections Estimates Difference Difference
Total Nonfarm 284,447 280,400 -4,047 -1.4%
Natural Resources & Mining 28,163 27,100 -1,063 -3.9%
Construction 19,255 18,500 -755 -4.1%
Manufacturing 9,126 8,800 -326 -3.7%
Wholesale Trade 9,133 9,100 -33 -0.4%
Retail Trade 28,069 28,700 631 2.2%
Transportation & Utilities 14,566 14,300 -266 -1.9%
Information 3,821 3,900 79 2.0%
Financial Activities 10,613 10,600 -13 -0.1%
Professional & Business Serv 17,432 17,200 -232 -1.3%
Educational & Health Service 26,858 26,300 -558 -2.1%
Leisure & Hospitality 30,981 28,900 -2,081 -7.2%
Other Services 11,806 12,400 594 4.8%
Government 74,625 74,600 -25 0.0%
Projections were run in April 2012 and based on QCEW data through December 2011.
For an explanation of the table shown above, please see New Monthly Feature in Trends: Comparison of Current Employment Statistics (CES) Estimates to Short-Term Employment Projections
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Wyoming Department of Workforce Services Research & Planning April 24, 2012 Contacts: David Bullard, Senior Economist, 307-473-3810 Carola Cowan, BLS Programs Supervisor, 307-473-3804 |