© Copyright 2004 by the Wyoming Department of Employment, Research & Planning

WYOMING LABOR FORCE TRENDS

Vol. 41 No. 12    

 

 

Job Growth Up and Unemployment Down in 2004
by: Carol Toups, David Bullard, Valerie A. Davis, Brad Payne, Susan J. Murray, and Sherry Wen

 

Table 1 contains annual average data for the Current Population Survey (CPS) population, labor force, jobs worked, unemployed individuals, and annual Unemployment Insurance (UI) recipients. The percentage changes for the period 2003 to 2004 indicate that total unemployed workers in Wyoming decreased by 13.4 percent and total UI recipients decreased by 8.9 percent. The number of jobs worked increased by 5,400 jobs or 2.2 percent, which is larger than the 2002 to 2003 increase of 2,100 jobs (0.8%). 

In first quarter 2004, Wyoming covered employment grew by 6,907 jobs or 3.0 percent (see Table 2). Second quarter over-the-year employment growth remained fairly stable with an increase of 7,091 jobs or 2.9 percent. Total wages for first quarter showed an over-the-year increase of 7.2 percent, slightly higher than the second quarter increase of 7.1 percent.

The Map identifies over-the-year changes in unemployment rates from October 2003 to October 2004. States with the darkest shading had unemployment rate increases. As a whole, the U.S. experienced little change in the seasonally adjusted unemployment rates from 2003 (6.0%) to 2004 (5.5%). Washington had the largest decrease of -1.9 percentage points (7.5% to 5.6%). Wyoming experienced a slight over-the-year decrease from 4.3 percent in October 2002 to 3.8 percent in October 2003. The unemployment rate for several mid-American states and states bordering the Great Lakes did not fare as well as many mountain and western states.

 

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