Building Permits for Wyoming and Metropolitan Statistical Areas
Wyoming has seen a substantial decrease in the number of building permits for new privately owned housing units issued over the last two years. Building permit information is an important economic indicator, given that seasonal construction is responsible for a large portion of Wyoming's workforce. Information on building permits is published as part of the Economic Indicators table in each issue of Wyoming Labor Force Trends. Research has shown that construction employment is related to the number of building permits issued (Bullard, 2004).
In 2008, 1,528 fewer single-family home (SFH) building permits were 
issued compared to 2007, a decline of 41.2% (see Figure 1). As Wyoming began to feel the effects of the national recession in 2009, this pattern continued; 608 fewer SFH building permits were issued in 2009 compared to 2008, a decline of 27.7%.
Figures 2 and 3 show the comparison of 
total and SFH building permits, respectively, for the Casper and Cheyenne metropolitan statistical areas (MSA). 
References
Bullard. D. (2004). Forecasting employment in Wyoming's construction industry. Wyoming Labor Force Trends 41(2). Retrieved August 5, 2010, from http://doe.state.wy.us/LMI/0204/a2.htm