Local Jobs and Payroll in Wyoming: Weak Job Growth Continues in Second Quarter 2013
The purpose of this article is to illustrate and describe employment and payroll changes between second quarter 2012 and second quarter 2013. These economic changes help gauge the overall strength of Wyoming’s economy and identify the fastest and slowest growing sectors and geographic areas.
 |
Total unemployment insurance (UI) covered payroll increased by $17.5 million (0.6%) in second quarter 2013. Employment rose by 390 jobs (0.1%) and average weekly wage increased by $4 (0.5%). In second quarter, employment grew slightly faster than its five year average (0.1% compared to -0.4%), but total wages grew at a slower pace than its five-year average (0.6% compared to 1.2%) and average weekly wage also grew at a slower pace than its five year average (0.5% compared to 1.6%; see Table 1). Job losses in the mining sector (including oil & gas) continued (-1,469 jobs, or -5.3%; see Table 6) and overall job growth weakened further. In terms of dollars, UI covered payroll represents approximately 91.5% of all wage and salary disbursements and 43.8% of personal income in the state (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2013). Analysts have noted that “minerals related employment is one of the key predictors of sales and use tax revenue” in Wyoming (CREG 2010).
Despite the recent growth, overall employment remains approximately 6,200 jobs (2.2%) below its second quarter 2008 level. In short, the state has yet to make up all the job losses of 2009 and 2010.
Although mining employment fell at the statewide level, it increased 196 jobs (5.1%) in Natrona County. This growth may be related to increased oil & gas activity in neighboring Converse County. Construction employment increased statewide (101 jobs, or 0.5%), in Natrona County (183 jobs, or 6.3%), and in Laramie County (683 jobs, or 24.3%).
The covered payroll and employment data in this article are tabulated by place of work, in contrast to the labor force estimates, which are a measure of employed and unemployed persons by place of residence. Also, the employment data presented in this article represent a count of jobs, not persons. When individuals work more than one job, each job is counted separately. Finally, job growth (or decline) is stated in terms of net change. The Quarterly Turnover Statistics by Industry table presents alternative measures of job gains and losses using the same data sources and calculated to describe the components of change.
|
Figure 1 shows Wyoming wage & salary employment by covered/non-covered status. Approximately 92% of wage & salary jobs in the state are covered by state unemployment insurance, while 2.6% of jobs are covered by federal unemployment insurance, and 0.9% are covered by unemployment insurance administered by the railroad retirement board. There are several categories of non-covered jobs, and together they account for approximately 5% of wage & salary jobs in the state. Some examples of non-covered employment include elected officials, students working at educational institutions, employees of churches, and workers at small non-profit organizations.
 |
 |
 |
Figure 2 shows that the level of job growth fell from 2.5% in first quarter 2012 to 0.1% in second quarter 2013, its slowest pace since third quarter 2010. Total payroll growth, which had risen to 4.1% in fourth quarter slowed to 0.6% in second quarter (see Table 2).
Employment
and Wages by County
Employment rose in 10 counties and fell in 13 counties (see Table 3). Total payroll increased in 15 counties and decreased in eight counties.
Teton County added 663 jobs (3.9%) and its total payroll rose by $6.8 million (4.3%). The largest job gains were found in accommodation & food services (approximately 150 jobs), retail trade (more than 100 jobs), administrative & waste services, construction, and educational services.
Carbon County gained 312 jobs (4.4%) and its total payroll increased by $8.1 million (11.0%). Employment increased in construction, accommodation & food services, health care & social assistance, and administrative & waste services.
Employment in Converse County rose by 183 jobs (3.1%) and its total payroll grew by $2.0 million (2.9%). Strong job gains occurred in transportation & warehousing, local government (including public schools and hospitals), and mining (including oil & gas).
Albany County added 96 jobs (0.6%) and its total payroll increased by $0.3 million (0.2%). Job growth was seen in accommodation & food services; local government (including public schools & hospitals); and arts, entertainment, & recreation.
Campbell County lost 661 jobs (-2.4%) and its total payroll fell by $482,524 (-0.1%). The largest job losses occurred in mining (more than 400 jobs), construction (more than 150 jobs), other services (approximately 150 jobs), and wholesale trade (nearly 100 jobs). Employment increased in accommodation & food services (approximately 150 jobs).
Sublette County’s employment fell by 651 jobs (-11.5%) and its total payroll decreased by $9.1 million (-11.3%). Mining employment (including oil & gas) decreased by more than 500 jobs and smaller job losses were seen in accommodation & food services, administrative & waste services, and professional & technical services.
Employment in Park County decreased by 417 jobs (-2.9%) and its total payroll decreased by $1.7 million (-1.3%). Large job losses were seen in retail trade (approximately 150 jobs), construction (more than 100 jobs), and accommodation & food services (approximately 100 jobs). Employment also fell in federal government, health care & social assistance, administrative & waste services, wholesale trade, and other services.
Uinta County lost 412 jobs (-4.4%) and its total payroll fell by $4.0 million (-4.4%). Construction employment fell by approximately 250 jobs, and smaller job losses were seen in accommodation & food services, retail trade, manufacturing, information, professional & technical services, and other services.
Washakie County’s employment fell by 139 jobs (-3.5%) and its total payroll decreased by $770,847 (-2.0%). Small job losses were seen in many sectors, including accommodation & food services, administrative & waste services, local government, and health care & social assistance.
Sweetwater County lost 125 jobs (-0.5%), but its total payroll increased by $1.1 million (0.3%). Mining employment (including oil & gas) fell by approximately 350 jobs and smaller job losses were seen in local government, professional & technical services, and transportation & warehousing. Employment increased in real estate & rental & leasing, accommodation & food services, and health care & social assistance.
 |
Natrona County gained 842 jobs (2.1%) and its total payroll increased by $8.9 million (1.9%; see Table 4). The largest job gains occurred in accommodation & food services (310 jobs, or 8.2%), mining (including oil & gas; 196 jobs, or 5.1%), health care & social assistance (191 jobs, or 3.4%), and construction (183 jobs, or 6.3%). Job losses were seen in other services (-169 jobs, or -8.0%), manufacturing (-111 jobs, or -6.0%), and administrative & waste services (-44 jobs, or -3.1%).
 |
 |
Table 5 shows that Laramie County added 1,448 jobs (3.3%) and its total payroll rose by $22.2 million (5.1%). Construction employment grew by 683 jobs (24.3%), retail trade grew by 180 jobs (3.3%), and ambulatory health care services grew by 103 jobs (5.4%).
Statewide Employment
and Wages by Industry
The largest job gains occurred in accommodation & food services (749 jobs, or 2.4%), local government (including public schools, colleges, & hospitals; 317 jobs, or 0.7%), retail trade (308 jobs, or 1.0%), real estate & rental & leasing (269 jobs, or 6.6%), health care & social assistance (254 jobs, or 1.1%), and transportation & warehousing (227 jobs, or 2.4%; see Table 6). Employment decreased in mining (including oil & gas; -1,469 jobs, or -5.3%), other services (-407 jobs, or -4.7%), federal government (-147 jobs, or -1.9%), and information (-146 jobs, or -3.7%).
Accommodation & food services added 749 jobs (2.4%) and its total payroll rose by $5.9 million (4.8%). Employment in food services & drinking places grew by more than 650 jobs.
Employment in local government increased by 317 jobs (0.7%) and its total payroll grew by $10.2 million (2.0%). Local government hospitals added 124 jobs (1.8%), ambulatory health care services added more than 50 jobs, and local government education (including school districts and community colleges) added 43 jobs (0.2%).
Retail trade gained 308 jobs (1.0%) and its total payroll rose by $4.6 million (2.4%). Employment increased in building material & garden supply stores (more than 200 jobs); sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument & book stores (approximately 150 jobs); and food & beverage stores (more than 100 jobs). Job losses were seen in general merchandise stores (including supercenters; more than 200 jobs) and gasoline stations (nearly 100 jobs).
Real estate & rental & leasing added 269 jobs (6.6%) and its total payroll increased by $2.7 million (5.7%). Employment in real estate rose by more than 50 jobs and employment in rental & leasing services rose by approximately 200 jobs.
Health care & social assistance gained 254 jobs (1.1%) and its total payroll rose by $1.6 million (0.7%). Employment grew in ambulatory health care services (219 jobs, or 2.4%) and social assistance (181 jobs, or 2.7%), but fell in private hospitals (-114 jobs, or -3.6%) and nursing & residential care facilities (-33 jobs, or -0.7%).
Employment in transportation & warehousing rose by 227 jobs (2.4%) and its total payroll increased by $4.9 million (4.4%). Truck transportation added more than 100 jobs and smaller gains were seen in air transportation and warehousing.
Mining employment fell by 1,469 jobs (-5.3%) and its total payroll decreased by $9.2 million (-1.7%). Large job losses were seen in support activities for mining (including oil & gas well drilling and support activities for oil & gas; down more than 1,000 jobs). Coal mining employment decreased by more than 350 jobs.
Employment in other services decreased by 407 jobs (-4.7%) and its total payroll fell by $928,423 (-1.3%). Repair & maintenance services lost approximately 200 jobs and employment also fell in membership associations & organizations.
Federal government lost 147 jobs (-1.9%) and its total payroll fell by $1.4 million (-1.3%). The largest job losses were seen in administration of environmental quality programs and arts, entertainment, & recreation (including parks).
The information sector lost 146 jobs (-3.7%) and its total payroll decreased by $577,738 (-1.4%). Employment fell in publishing, motion picture & sound recording industries, broadcasting, and telecommunications.
In summary, overall job growth remained very weak and job losses continued in oil & gas and coal mining. However, job growth was seen in accommodation & food services, local government (including public schools, colleges, & hospitals), and retail trade. Some counties added jobs at a healthy pace (Carbon, Converse, Laramie, Natrona, and Teton) while others saw large employment declines (Campbell, Park, Sublette, Uinta, and Washakie).
David Bullard can be reached at david.bullard@wyo.gov.
References
Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG; October 2010, October). Wyoming state government revenue forecast, Fiscal Year 2011 — Fiscal Year 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2011 from http://eadiv.state.wy.us/creg/GreenCREG_Oct10.pdf
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2013, January 16). SA04 State income and employment summary. Retrieved January 16, 2013, from http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1&isuri=1&acrdn=4