County has lowest unemployment

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Weston County had the lowest unemployment rate in the state for October, according to a Nov. 19 report from the Research and Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, and while that may sound like a good thing to most, some local businesses are feeling the pressure when trying to fill vacant positions. 
“We are sitting pretty good at Wayback, but that isn’t always the case,” Pennie Loebs, co-owner said. “At Wayback, people equate us with fast food and an easy environment, but that work is tough. It is fast paced and not everyone can handle it. We have had rock stars, and we have had some who aren’t. The struggle is real.” 
Add to that the low unemployment rate in the county and Loebs said it seems to be “picking out of the shallow end,” as far as potential hires go. 
Jeremiah Decker, son of Decker’s Market owner Danny Decker, said that as a business, Decker’s is sympathetic to other local businesses struggling to find help because they themselves have been in that situation – not that long ago, as a matter of fact. 
“We have a great group right now, and we’ve made some really important new hires. It comes in waves, though, so knock on wood,” Decker said. 
Employment numbers at the local grocery store are also expected to rise once the store moves to its new location, he said. 
According to the report, Weston County not only had the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.4%, but it was also one of only three counties that experienced a decrease from September to October of 0.3%. The second-lowest unemployment rate is found in neighboring Niobrara County, which is currently sitting at an unemployment rate of 2.5%
In October, only 92 of the 3,804-person labor force in Weston County were without jobs, the report says. The 3,712 people employed was up from 3,667 in September. 
“From October 2018 to October 2019, unemployment rates fell in 19 counties, rose in three counties and remained unchanged in Washakie County (3.4%). The largest decreases occurred in Johnson County, where unemployment fell from 3.7% to 2.8%, Weston County, where it fell from 3.2% to 2.4% and Fremont County, where it fell from 4.7% to 3.9%,” the report says. 
A further breakdown of those numbers shows that the county’s labor force went up – from 3,746 last year to 3,804 in 2019 – while the number of employed persons also increased – from 3,626 to 3,712. The number of unemployed fell by 28, from 120 last year to 92 for the same time frame. 
Weston County’s unemployment rate has remained consistently lower than the state’s, 3.8%, and national average of 3.6%. 
“The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged from September to October at 3.8%. It was lower than its October 2018 level of 4.2%, but slightly higher than the current U.S. unemployment rate of 3.6%,” the report says. “Wyoming’s labor force increased by 1,000 or 0.3% from October 2018 to October 2019.”