Wyoming Unemployment Rate Decreases Again in April 2010
The Research & Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Employment has reported that for the third month in a row, the state's seasonally adjusted1 unemployment rate decreased. Wyoming's unemployment rate was 7.6% in January and has steadily decreased to 7.1% in April. Nonfarm job losses have slowed in recent months.
Over the year, total nonfarm employment decreased by 6,200 jobs (-2.2%).Construction posted the largest job losses (-1,900 jobs, or -8.2%) followed by leisure & hospitality (-1,800 jobs, or -6.0%). Job losses were also seen in other services (-1,100 jobs, or -9.2%), natural resources & mining (-1,000 jobs, or -3.9%), professional & business services (-700 jobs, or -4.1%), and financial activities (-400 jobs, or -3.6%). Employment increased slightly in manufacturing (500 jobs, or 5.6%), educational & health services (500 jobs, or 2.0%), and government (200 jobs, or 0.3%).
From March to April, Wyoming added 2,300 jobs (0.8%). This level of increase is consistent with normal seasonal patterns. The largest job gains occurred in construction (2,400 jobs, or 12.7%) followed by professional & business services (600 jobs, or 3.8%), natural resources & mining (200 jobs, or 0.8%), retail trade (200 jobs, or 0.7%), educational & health services (200 jobs, or 0.8%), and other services (200 jobs, or 1.9%). Over-the-month job losses were seen in leisure & hospitality (-1,000 jobs, or -3.4%) and government (-500 jobs, or -0.7%).
Most county unemployment rates followed their normal seasonal pattern and decreased from March to April. Teton County posted the highest unemployment rate (12.3%) followed by Lincoln (10.5%), Johnson (8.5%), and Fremont (8.0%) counties. In two counties (Big Horn and Hot Springs) unemployment rates were lower than in April 2009.
1 Seasonal 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 in order to obtain a better understanding of changes in economic conditions from month to month.