Unemployment falls — Weston County unemployment dips to 2.5% in May
Weston County’s unemployment rate continued to improve in May, falling to 2.5% and remaining among the lowest in Wyoming, according to the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.
The county’s unemployment rate decreased from 2.6% in April and was down significantly from 3.2% in May 2025, continuing a trend of year-over-year improvement in the local labor market.
Weston County tied Sheridan County for the fourth-lowest unemployment rate in the state in May. Albany and Crook counties reported Wyoming’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.3%, followed by Johnson County at 2.4%. Niobrara County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 3.6%.
Statewide, Wyoming’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 3.5% in April to 3.4% in May. The state’s unemployment rate remained well below the seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate of 4.3%.
According to the Department of Workforce Services, most Wyoming counties saw decreases in unemployment rates from April to May as seasonal hiring accelerated with warmer weather.
“Unemployment rates usually decrease in May as the warmer days of late spring bring seasonal job gains in leisure and hospitality, government, construction, professional and business services, and retail trade,” the report says.
Weston County also posted one of the state’s strongest year-over-year improvements as most Wyoming counties saw decreases in unemployment rates over the year.
Weston County’s unemployment rate fell 0.7 percentage points, from 3.2% in May 2025 to 2.5% in May 2026. Weston County was followed by Uinta County, which fell from 3.4% to 2.7%, Sheridan County, which declined from 3.1% to 2.5%, and Carbon County, which dropped from 3.2% to 2.8%.
Two counties, Niobrara County at 3.6% and Sweetwater County at 3.5%, experienced no change year over year.
In addition to the unemployment rates, the report shows that Weston County’s labor force dropped from 3,022 in April to 3,015 in May, while the number of individuals employed declined from 2,944 to 2,939. As a result, the number of unemployed residents fell from 78 in April to 76 in May.
Those same numbers also declined year over year. The county’s labor force totaled 3,110 in May 2025, with 3,011 people employed and 99 unemployed.
The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services releases county unemployment estimates each month to track labor market conditions across the state.
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