State Unemployment Rate at 4.9% for Fourth Month in a Row
The Research & Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services has reported that the state's seasonally adjusted1 unemployment rate was 4.9% in March. It has remained at that level since December 2012. Wyoming's unemployment rate was significantly lower than the U.S. rate of 7.6%. Seasonally adjusted employment of Wyoming residents was virtually unchanged from February to March (up 30 individuals, or 0.0%).
From February to March, most county unemployment rates followed their normal seasonal patterns and fell slightly. The largest decreases were seen in Johnson (down from 7.4% to 7.0%), Hot Springs (down from 5.8% to 5.4%), and Fremont (down from 7.3% to 6.9%) counties. Unemployment rates increased modestly in Niobrara (up from 4.0% to 4.2%), Big Horn (up from 6.4% to 6.6%), Teton (up from 5.7 to 5.8%), and Goshen (up from 5.2% to 5.3%) counties.
Lincoln County posted the highest unemployment rate in March (7.9%). It was followed by Johnson (7.0%), Fremont (6.9%), and Sheridan (6.8%) counties. The lowest unemployment rates were found in Sublette (4.0%), Converse (4.1%), and Niobrara (4.2%) counties.
From March 2012 to March 2013, unemployment rates fell in the vast majority of counties. The largest decreases occurred in Lincoln (down from 9.6% to 7.9%), Carbon (down from 6.7% to 5.4%), and Laramie (down from 6.9% to 5.6%) counties. Slight increases in unemployment were seen in Hot Springs (up from 5.0% to 5.4%) and Sublette (up from 3.9% to 4.0%) counties.
Total nonfarm employment (measured by place of work) edged downward from 283,200 jobs in March 2012 to 282,500 jobs in March 2013, a decrease of 700 jobs (-0.2%; not a statistically significant change).
1Seasonal adjustment is 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.
