Local Area Unemployment Statistics for 2003Q3

Local Area Unemployment Statistics for Second Quarter 2003

by: Brad Payne, Economist

"The 1.6 percent over-the-year decrease in unemployment from 02Q2 to 03Q2 is in stark contrast to the 7.2 percent increase posted a year earlier between 01Q2 and 02Q2."

During second quarter 2003 (03Q2), Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) employment increased statewide by 5,430 jobs or 2.1 percent when compared to second quarter 2002 (02Q2); see Table. While employment rose between 02Q2 and 03Q2, employment declined 1.1 percent the previous year (between 01Q2 and 02Q2). Similar to employment, the labor force increased by 5,249 or 1.9 percent between 02Q2 and 03Q2 while unemployment decreased by 181 or 1.6 percent over the same time period. The 1.6 percent over-the-year decrease in unemployment from 02Q2 to 03Q2 is in stark contrast to the 7.2 percent increase posted a year earlier between 01Q2 and 02Q2 (which included a period of U.S. economic recession). The average unemployment rate during 03Q2 was 4.0 percent while the unemployment rates from previous years (01Q2 and 02Q2) were 4.1 and 3.8 percent, respectively.

Within Wyoming, each of the five regions (see Map) experienced positive over-the-year employment growth. The Southwest Region recorded the highest rate of growth (3.9 percent) by adding 1,962 jobs. Employment growth in Lincoln (224 jobs), Sublette (60 jobs), Sweetwater (743 jobs), Teton (391 jobs), and Uinta (544 jobs) counties contributed to regional growth. The Southwest and Northeast were the only regions to show employment growth in all of the underlying counties.

The statewide decrease in unemployment was a result of decreased unemployment in the Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast regions which offset a 9.3 percent unemployment increase in the Northeast Region and a 3.0 percent unemployment increase in the Central Region. Unemployment growth in the Northeast Region was led by Campbell County which grew by 126 jobs (16.0%) while unemployment growth in the Central Region was led by Carbon County (49 jobs or 13.4%). Conversely, the largest decline in unemployment was found in Park County where unemployment shrank by 111 jobs (16.1%). No region in the state showed unemployment growth in each of its underlying counties.

The most dramatic over-the-year increases in unemployment rates were found in Converse, Carbon, Teton, Campbell, and Platte counties. Converse County’s over-the-year change in the unemployment rate was 0.7 percentage points (up from 3.9% in 02Q2 to 4.7% in 03Q2). Carbon County’s unemployment rate increased from 4.5 percent in 02Q2 to 5.0 percent in 03Q2 (a change of 0.5 percentage points). Teton County’s unemployment rate increased from 3.9 percent to 4.4 percent (a change of 0.5 percentage points). The unemployment rate in both Campbell and Platte counties increased by 0.5 percentage points (up from 3.5% and 3.6% to 4.0% and 4.1%, respectively). In Converse, Carbon, Teton, and Campbell counties, significant increases in unemployment (19.0%, 13.4%, 19.5%, and 16.0%, respectively) with small increases in the labor force contributed to the rise in unemployment rates. The increased unemployment rate in Platte County was a function of higher unemployment and a smaller labor force.

The largest declines in the unemployment rates between 02Q2 and 03Q2 were posted in Washakie, Hot Springs, and Big Horn counties. The unemployment rates fell from 6.0 percent to 3.9 percent in Washakie County, 4.7 percent to 2.7 percent in Hot Springs County, and 5.1 percent to 3.7 percent in Big Horn County. The decreases in the unemployment rates for Washakie, Hot Springs, and Big Horn counties were driven by large decreases in unemployment; 36.5 percent, 44.7 percent, and 26.5 percent, respectively.

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