Wyoming Employment Continues Rising in 2022
Written by Andrew-Rossi on March 8, 2022
Employment numbers in Wyoming are slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels, as the downward trend in unemployment from 2021 continued into 2022.
This year started right when it came to jobs. The steady decline in unemployment began in 2021 continued into the first month of 2022.
The Research & Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services reported today that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 4.0% in December to 3.8% in January.
Wyoming has recently completed a comprehensive annual revision of its unemployment data. The new data show that Wyoming’s unemployment rate trended downward during 2021, starting the year at 5.1% and ending the year at 4.0%.
From December 2021 to January 2022, seasonally adjusted employment of Wyoming residents rose by 792 individuals (0.3%) as people returned to work.
Most county unemployment rates followed their regular seasonal pattern and increased from December to January. Winter weather and the end of the holiday shopping season often bring job losses in January.
Some sectors where employment usually falls in January include construction, retail trade, professional & business services, transportation & warehousing, and government.
Courtesy Wyoming Department of Workforce Services
Unfortunately, the Bighorn Basin saw an increase in unemployment in January.
Significant unemployment increases were seen in Big Horn (3.6% to 4.8%), Sweetwater (3.9% to 5.1%), and Washakie (3.0% to 4.2%) counties. Big Horn County has the fourth-highest unemployment rate in Wyoming, behind Natrona, Sweetwater, and Sublette Counties.
The good news is unemployment rates fell in every county from January 2021 to January 2022. These decreases suggest that unemployment rates are returning to more normal levels after being elevated earlier in the pandemic.
- Sublette County (down from 7.9% to 4.9%)
- Natrona County (down from 8.0% to 5.1%)
- Converse County (down from 6.6% to 3.9%)
Teton County had the lowest unemployment rate in January at 2.5%. Weston County followed it at 2.9%, Goshen County at 3.0%, and Albany County at 3.1%.
Research & Planning has scheduled the February unemployment news release for March 28, 2022.
You can examine the unemployment numbers for all of Wyoming on the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services website.
