Wyoming unemployment drops slightly to 7 percent in May as over-the-year job losses slow

Wyoming unemployment drops slightly to 7 percent

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May was the lowest the state has seen since last July.

The Wyoming Department of Employment reported Tuesday that the unemployment rate was 7 percent. That’s down from 7.1 percent in April and marks the state’s lowest level since July 2009. The rate in May 2009 was 6.1 percent.

Wyoming’s unemployment rate remains below the national rate of 9.7 percent. Overall, Wyoming’s rate was the 11th lowest among all states.

Meanwhile, over-the-year job losses have decreased from 6.3 percent in October 2009 to 1.8 percent in May. The department reports that Wyoming has lost 5,200 jobs since May 2009. The biggest factor was a 12.4 percent drop in construction jobs.

County unemployment rates decreased or held steady from April to May. Sublette County had the lowest unemployment rate at 4.4 percent, while Teton County had the highest at 9.4 percent.

“It’s a little surprising to see things move this consistently month after month,” said senior economist David Bullard. “Unemployment coming down month after month, job losses are getting smaller, without any kind of hiccup.”

Bullard said Wyoming ranked 47th among all the states in terms of adding jobs. He said only nine states posted job gains in May.

Wyoming added 8,200 jobs between April and May this year, consistent with normal seasonal patterns.

Wenlin Liu, senior economist with the state’s Economic Analysis Division, said that although Wyoming lagged nearly a year behind the rest of the country in entering the recession, its economic recovery is not far behind.

Liu said natural gas prices held up well during low demand in the spring and are moving up again.

Prospects for residential construction in Wyoming also appear brighter, Liu said.

“Residential building permits in the first quarter increased substantially from a year ago,” Liu said. “The first quarter existing home sales also grew 12.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009, only one of a few states showing an increase over the quarter.”

Home prices in Wyoming declined at an annual rate of 2 percent in the first quarter, but that was the smallest contraction in a year and was lower than the national decline of 3.1 percent.

Information from: Casper Star-Tribune - Casper, www.trib.com