Covered Employment & Wages for First Quarter 1999

Covered Employment & Wages for First Quarter 1999
Source: ES-202 Report
Run Date: August 1999
Prepared: 09/20/99 by Nancy Brennan
Text by: David Bullard

"[Natrona County's average weekly wage fell as a] result of high-paying oil & gas jobs being replaced by lower-paying jobs in the Services industry."

Covered employment increased by 3,822 jobs or 1.8 percent over the year in the first quarter of this year. During the same period, total payroll increased 4.0 percent and the average weekly wage (AWW) increased by $10 or 2.1 percent. Table 1 shows monthly employment by industry for first quarter. The March total employment of 216,198 is 2.5 percent higher than March 1998 employment of 210,851.

As seen in Table 2, employment increased in nine of the twelve industries. The three industries with employment declines were Mining, Wholesale Trade and Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (FIRE). Employment declined in FIRE because of a "non-economic code change." A firm which previously was included in FIRE was reclassified into the Services industry.¹

Construction and Services were the industries with the largest job gains. Construction added 1,228 jobs in the first quarter for 9.3 percent growth over the year. Services employment increased by 2,895 jobs or 6.6 percent. As indicated in the previous paragraph, some of the increase in Services employment is the result of movement of jobs from FIRE to Services. Unexpectedly large job losses were seen in Mining, which fell by 1,880 jobs or 11.0 percent (see related article). Most of the decrease was in the oil & gas extraction industry (SIC 13).²

Table 2 shows that the Average Weekly Wage (AWW) increased in all industries except Transportation, Communications, & Public Utilities (TCPU) and Federal Government. Wages in TCPU fell by 1.7 percent to $627, while wages in Federal Government decreased by 1.6 percent to $696. However, wages in these two industries remain well above the statewide AWW of $469.

Table 3 shows that employment in Teton County grew at 5.9 percent, the fastest of all counties. After Construction, the largest number of new jobs in Teton County were in hotels & other lodging places (SIC 70) and amusement & recreation services (SIC 79), suggesting continued growth in the tourist industry.

Albany County’s employment grew by 700 jobs or 5.3 percent. The majority of new jobs were in the business services industry (SIC 73), which includes telemarketing firms, temporary staffing services and computer related services. Fremont County experienced 4.5 percent growth in first quarter, adding 565 jobs. Following the statewide pattern of growth, most of the jobs created in Fremont County were in the Construction industry.

Despite job losses in oil & gas, Natrona County's employment rose by 1,044 jobs (3.6%) in first quarter. However, its AWW fell by $9 or 1.9 percent. The drop in AWW is the result of high-paying oil & gas jobs being replaced by lower paying jobs in the Services industry.

In spite of strong growth statewide, six Wyoming counties lost jobs in the first quarter. Three of these counties--Big Horn, Hot Springs and Washakie--were in the Northwest Region. Two were in the Southwest Region--Sweetwater and Uinta Counties. Platte County was in the Southeast Region. With the exceptions of Platte and Hot Springs Counties, it appears that decreases in Mining employment were responsible for the job losses in these counties.

AWW jumped 11.8 percent in Fremont County, but reviewing the firm-specific data reveals that the major part of the increase in payroll was due to a small number of large bonuses. Weston County's AWW increased 10.7 percent or $41 during the quarter. It appears that this increase is associated with short-term projects in the Mining industry.

The Figure illustrates total payroll and percent change from first quarter 1995 to first quarter 1999. Total payroll grew at a slower pace this quarter than in the previous three quarters, but remained well above the slow growth experienced from third quarter 1995 to second quarter 1996.³

1 Each year during the refiling survey, approximately one-third of the employers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) in Wyoming are contacted to confirm that they have been assigned the correct Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code. If it is found that an employer has changed primary business activity, a new SIC code is assigned to reflect that change.

2 The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code system is a method of classifying firms into industries based on their output. For a complete list of SIC codes and descriptions, see the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification Manual, Office of Management and Budget.

3 For a discussion of the slow growth during 1995 and 1996, see David Bullard, "Total Payroll as a Tool for Identifying Business Cycles in Wyoming," Wyoming Labor Force Trends, May 1999.

The large decline in Mining employment during first quarter came as a surprise to many analysts. For example, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates for March 1999 (published in the May 1999 issue of Wyoming Labor Force Trends) show Mining employment down by 600 jobs or -3.6 percent, far short of the 1,880 job decline shown in Table 2. This large decline in employment was unexpected because UI claims from the Mining industry and monthly reports from employers included in the CES sample suggested much smaller job losses. After reviewing the Mining employment data produced by the Covered Employment and Wages (ES-202) program, analysts were able to confirm the large job losses by using wage records to track individual employees. This involved the detailed matching of individual wage records by employer account for first quarter 1998 and first quarter 1999.

Table of Contents | Labor Market Information | Employment Resources | Send Us Mail

These pages designed by Gayle C. Edlin.
Last modified on by Valerie A. Davis.