Wyoming Jobless Rate Falls For Fourth Straight Month
A new state report shows Wyoming's unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 percent in November, down from October's jobless rate of 5.1 percent.
That marks the fourth straight month the state's unemployment rate has declined. Senior State Economist David Bullard says that even though the overall declines haven't been large over that time, the fact that the jobless rate keeps dropping can only be good news.
There is additional good news in the numbers for the state's largest energy producing counties, which have been hit hard by low energy prices. Campbell County's jobless rate dropped from 6.3 percent in October to 5.9 percent last month, and Natrona county saw its unemployment rate drop to 6.0 percent from 6.3 percent the month before.
Bullard says there are hopeful signs for the energy industry statewide, including an overall trend in the price of crude oil, which has remained above $50 a barrel recently. He also points to an increase in rig counts in the state from seven in June to 18 last week.
Those numbers bode well for a state economy that is largely dependent on energy and mineral extraction.
The year-over-year numbers aren't so good, however. Campbell County's jobless rate jumped from 4.0 percent to 5.9 percent between November of 2015 and last month, while Natrona County saw unemployment increase from 5.2 percent to 6.0 percent year-over-year.
The statewide unemployment rate went from 4.3 percent to 4.9 percent over the same period.