Converse County leads state in job growth

DOUGLAS (WNE) — Wyoming added 32,619 jobs, a notable increase of 13.6% from 2002 to 2022, according to Wyoming Workforce Services Research & Planning Senior Economist David Bullard.

Converse County led the way in fastest growth in the Cowboy State at 46.1%.

Sublette was next (44.3%), Teton (34.7%), followed by Crook (31.9%) and Lincoln (31.9%) counties.

“From 2002 to 2022, Converse County added 1,937 jobs (46.1%). Total employment grew steadily from 2002 to 2014. The mining sector, including oil & gas, added more than 1,087 jobs from 2002 to 2014 as oil & gas drilling activity expanded in the county,” Bullard reported in Wyoming Labor Force Trends (Feb. 20).

According to the report, from 2014 to 2017 Converse County’s total employment fell by nearly 900 jobs.

Energy prices peaked in the summer of 2014 and then fell sharply in late 2014 and early 2015.

Wyoming’s statewide rig count decreased from 61 in October 2014 to single digits in the spring and summer of 2016.

Converse County’s 2019 peak in employment was largely associated with oil & gas pipeline and related structures construction.

From 2017 to 2019, the construction sector added 1,033 jobs and then from 2019 to 2021, construction employment fell by 895 jobs as projects were completed.

Bullard said that net job losses were seen in Uinta (-8.4%), Big Horn (-1.7%), Washakie (-0.4%), and Hot Springs (-0.2%) counties.

“Looking back over the past two decades, Wyoming’s two fastest growing counties, Converse and Sublette, benefitted from increased oil & gas activity and related construction projects. On the other end of the spectrum, Uinta and Big Horn counties saw net job losses that were mostly related to falling employment in the energy sector,” he said.

This story was published on March 13, 2024.