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© Copyright 1998 by the Wyoming Department of Employment, Research & Planning

Seasonal workers traditionally increase the overall employment levels in Wyoming during the second quarter (see Table 1). The second quarter of 1997 was no exception, with a 1.2 percent increase from the previous year. The Construction, Mining, Wholesale Trade and Agriculture industries had the largest increases in employment compared with the previous year with 6.5, 5.6, 5.0 and 4.3 percent, respectively (see Table 2). Big Horn, Johnson, Sublette, Teton and Goshen Counties had the largest percent increases in employment at the county level (5.9, 4.0, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.2%, respectively). Local and Federal Government had the largest decreases in employment compared with a year ago with -1.7 and -2.6 percent. The Manufacturing and Transportation, Communications & Public Utilities (TCPU) industries also had decreases from the previous year (-1.4 and -0.2%) while Weston, Niobrara and Uinta Counties had the largest decreases by county (see Table 3).

Total payrolls were up 4.9 percent and average weekly wages were up 3.6 percent compared with a year ago, which actually is above the national inflation rate of 2.3 percent. The Construction, Wholesale Trade and Mining industries had the largest increases in total payrolls and average weekly wages, although workers in the Federal Government, Manufacturing and TCPU industries had the largest average weekly wage increases over the previous year. High average weekly wages in Federal Government are due to an employment cut-back at the lower end of the pay scale, which caused the employment to decrease but caused the average weekly wage to increase.

Big Horn County not only had the largest employment growth over the previous year but also had the largest payroll growth of 16.7 percent, although Hot Springs and Park Counties had larger percent changes in average weekly wages. The Services industry had the only decrease in average weekly wages from the previous year (-1.5%), while Teton County had the only decreasing average weekly wage among the counties (-6.6%).

Nancy Brennan is an Economist, specializing in ES-202 Covered Employment and Wages with Research & Planning.

Mike Evans is a Senior Economist, supervising Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) programs.

 

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