Economic Indicators

© Copyright 2004 by the Wyoming Department of Employment, Research & Planning
WYOMING LABOR FORCE TRENDS
Vol. 41 No. 6

Economic Indicators
by: David Bullard, Senior Economist

Benefits paid by Wyoming Unemployment Insurance fell 34.0 percent from April 2003 to April 2004, signaling improvement in the labor market.

	Apr	Mar	Apr	Percent Change
	2004	2004	2003	Month	Year
	______(p)_	______(r)_	_____(b)_	_____	_____
Wyoming Total Civilian Labor Force	276,468	275,229	275,627	0.5	0.3
Unemployed	10,123	10,958	13,129	-7.6	-22.9
Employed	266,345	264,271	262,498	0.8	1.5
Wyoming Unemployment Rate/Seas. Adj.	3.7%/3.4%	4.0%/3.4%	4.8%/4.5%	N/A	N/A
U.S. Unemployment Rate/Seas. Adj.	5.4%/5.6%	6.0%/5.7%	5.8%/6.0%	N/A	N/A
U.S. Multiple Jobholders	7,239,000	7,377,000	7,181,000	-1.9	0.8
As a percent of all workers	5.2%	5.4%	5.2%	N/A	N/A
U.S. Discouraged Workers	492,000	514,000	437,000	-4.3	12.6
U.S. Part Time for Economic Reasons	4,411,000	4,868,000	4,609,000	-9.4	-4.3

Hours & Earnings for Production Workers
Wyoming Mining
Average Weekly Earnings	$1,016.72	$988.13	$951.35	2.9	6.9
Average Weekly Hours	43.9	43.8	43.6	0.2	0.7
U.S. Mining Hours & Earnings
Average Weekly Earnings	$828.35	$830.08	$783.98	-0.2	5.7
Average Weekly Hours	44.8	44.7	43.7	0.2	2.5
Wyoming Manufacturing Hours & Earnings
Average Weekly Earnings	$626.83	$645.24	$713.47	-2.9	-12.1
Average Weekly Hours	39.9	38.8	40.7	2.8	-2.0
U.S. Manufacturing Hours & Earnings
Average Weekly Earnings	$652.04	$653.21	$623.64	-0.2	4.6
Average Weekly Hours	40.6	40.8	39.9	-0.5	1.8

Wyoming Unemployment Insurance
Weeks Compensated	15,764	23,143	23,870	-31.9	-34.0
Benefits Paid	$3,664,823	$5,434,029	$5,553,344	-32.6	-34.0
Average Weekly Benefit Payment	$232.48	$234.80	$232.65	-1.0	-0.1
State Insured Covered Jobs	226,787	224,128	222,343	1.2	2.0
Insured Unemployment Rate	1.8%	2.3%	2.4%	N/A	N/A

Consumer Price Index (U) for All U.S. Urban Consumers
(1982 to 1984 = 100) - All Items	188.0	187.4	183.8	0.3	2.3
Food & Beverages	185.0	184.9	179.0	0.1	3.4
Housing	188.4	187.9	184.1	0.3	2.3
Apparel	124.3	123.5	123.9	0.6	0.3
Transportation	161.8	160.5	159.3	0.8	1.6
Medical Care	308.3	307.5	294.6	0.3	4.7
Recreation (Apr. 1997=100)	109.0	108.8	107.4	0.2	1.5
Education & Communication (Apr. 1997=100)	110.9	111.1	109.0	-0.2	1.7
Other Goods & Services	303.6	303.1	298.1	0.2	1.8

Producer Prices (1982 to 1984 = 100) - All Commodities	144.5	142.7	136.8	1.3	5.6

Wyoming Building Permits
(New Privately Owned Housing Units Authorized)
Total Units	269	255	293	5.5	-8.2
Valuation	$48,589,000	$34,321,000	$34,763,000	41.6	39.8
Single Family Homes	228	208	231	10	-1.3
Valuation	$45,501,000	$31,275,000	$30,618,000	45.5	48.6

Baker Hughes North American Rotary Rig Count for Wyoming	61	63	38	-3.2	60.5


(p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (b) Benchmarked.