Covered Employment and Wages for Third Quarter 1999
Source: ES-202 Report
Run Date: March 2000
Prepared: 3/20/2000 by Nancy Brennan
Text by: David Bullard

"Construction activity and growth in Retail Trade helped Lincoln County increase its employment by 420 jobs or 8.4 percent over the year."

Covered employment increased by 3,966 jobs or 1.7 percent during the third quarter of 1999 compared to third quarter 1998. Total payroll increased 7.5 percent and average weekly wage (AWW) increased by $26 or 5.6 percent. Table 1 shows monthly employment by industry for third quarter 1999, when total employment of 233,231 in September was 2.2 percent higher than September 1998 employment of 228,153.

As seen in Table 2, employment increased in nine industries and decreased in three. Continuing the pattern seen in the first two quarters of 1999, employment decreased in 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 in 1998 was reclassified into the Services industry in 1999.¹

Within the Mining industry, employment increased in Coal Mining, but decreased in Metal Mining, Oil & Gas and Nonmetallic Mineral Mining. The largest decrease was in Oil & Gas.

The industries with the largest gains in employment were Construction, Agriculture and Services. Construction employment increased by 1,407 jobs or 7.9 percent and Agriculture added 228 jobs or 6.2 percent. Within Agriculture, the majority of new jobs were in Agricultural Services, which includes lawn care services, landscaping services, etc. Employment in the Services industry increased by 2,695 jobs or 5.1 percent. As indicated above, some of the increase in Services employment was the result of reclassification of jobs from FIRE to Services. Within Services, large increases in employment were seen in Business Services, Amusement & Recreational Services, Health Services and Social Services.

Table 2 shows that average weekly wage (AWW) increased in every industry. FIRE had the largest increase ($301 or 55.5%), but this was related to large bonuses paid to a small number of employees. Other industries with large increases in AWW were Retail Trade ($18 or 6.9%), Services ($24 or 6.6%) and State Government ($28 or 5.1%).

Total payroll increased in every industry except Mining. The largest total payroll increases were in FIRE (45.8%), Construction (13.0%), Services (12.0%) and Agriculture (10.7%).

As seen in Table 3, Northeast was the fastest growing region. It gained 847 jobs or 2.5 percent during third quarter 1999. Campbell County made up the largest part of this increase, adding 598 jobs or 3.5 percent.

Fremont County created the largest number of new jobs in the Northwest. During third quarter 1999, 527 jobs were added in Fremont County, giving it a growth rate of 3.9 percent. The majority of new jobs were in Construction and Services. Washakie County’s employment fell by 132 jobs or 3.5 percent as a result of job losses in the Oil & Gas industry.

The Southwest Region experienced the slowest growth in employment, adding 367 jobs or 0.7 percent. Sweetwater County and Uinta County both experienced a net loss of jobs. Uinta County lost 310 jobs or 3.7 percent with the largest job losses in Oil & Gas and Construction. In Sweetwater County, moderate job gains in Local Government and Business Services were more than offset by job losses in Mining, Construction and Retail Trade, leaving a net loss of 673 jobs or 3.4 percent.

Construction activity and growth in Retail Trade helped Lincoln County increase its employment by 420 jobs or 8.4 percent. Most of the new jobs in Teton County were in Construction and tourist-related industries such as Hotels & Lodging Places and Amusement & Recreational Services. These job gains pushed employment in Teton County up by 851 jobs or 4.7 percent.

Employment in the Southeast Region grew by 1,182 jobs or 2.1 percent. Laramie County was responsible for the largest number of new jobs in the region, increasing employment by 754 or 2.2 percent. Many of the new jobs came from Construction and Communications.

Central Wyoming was the second fastest growing region, adding 921 jobs or 2.3 percent. In Converse County, job losses in Mining and Construction were almost offset by gains in Services, resulting in a net loss of 6 jobs (0.1%). Carbon County added 140 jobs or 2.2 percent. These job gains were not concentrated in any one industry. Construction, Retail Trade, Services and Local Government all saw employment increases.

Natrona County had a net gain of 787 jobs or 2.6 percent. Oil & Gas lost over 200 jobs, but the gains in many other industries more than made up the difference. Federal and State Government showed modest employment gains, while Local Government added over 100 jobs. Other industries with large gains included Business Services and Health Services. Job gains were seen throughout the Construction and Retail Trade industries.

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.

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