Wyoming Sees Seasonal Unemployment Drop In April

This story first appeared on Cowboy State Daily

By Jim Angell, Cowboy State Daily

Wyoming’s unemployment rate fell slightly in April from March, following annual seasonal trends, according to the state Department of Workforce Services.

The department’s Research and Planning Division, in its regular unemployment report, said unemployment rates fell from 5.9% in March to 5.6% in April.

“From March to April, unemployment rates followed their normal seasonal pattern and fell in most counties,” the report said. “Unemployment rates often decrease in April as seasonal job gains occur in construction, retail trade and professional and business services.”

According to the report, the numbers meant that 16,467 members of Wyoming’s labor force of 293,373 were looking for jobs. The April figures show an increase of about 800 workers with jobs in April over March.

The state’s lowest unemployment rate in April was 3.9% in Weston County, a decline from 4.2% in March. The highest unemployment rate was in Natrona County at 7.4%, a decline of one-half percentage point from March.

Despite the job gains attributed to the hospitality and recreation industry, the unemployment rate in Teton County increased from 4.2% in March to 7% in April due to the end of the ski season, the report said.

April’s unemployment rate of 5.6% was slightly below the rate seen one year ago of 5.8%, the report said, even though the percentage of people looking for work grew in 16 counties.

The fall in the unemployment rate in Teton County to 7% was the largest decline seen over the year. In April 2020, Teton County’s unemployment rate was 12.5%.

Converse County saw the largest increase in its unemployment rate during the year, growing from 4.1% in 2020 to 6.1% in April of this year.

The state’s “seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate — a rate derived by accounting for the impacts of normally recurring events such as storms and major holidays — stood at 5.4% in April, a slight increase from 5.3% in March.

However, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained well below the national average of 6.1%, the report said.

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