Unemployment continues to drop

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Weston County unemployment rates continue to drop and remain lower than the state’s dropping unemployment rate, according to a May 21 report from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services Research and Planning Division. 
“Most county unemployment rates followed their normal seasonal pattern and fell from March to April,” the report states. “Warmer spring weather often brings job gains in construction, professional and business services and other sectors.” 
Unemployment rates from April 2019 are lower than
the previous year in almost every county, including Weston County, “suggesting a general tightening in the state’s labor market,” according to the report. 
Rates in Weston County dropped to 3 percent in April, down from 3.4 percent in March. Unemployment rates in the county were 3.6 percent in 2018. 
The report states that the labor force in Weston County totaled 3,739 in April, up from 3,720 in March. The number of individuals unemployed in Weston County totaled 111 in April, down 14 people from the previous month. 
From February to March, Weston County’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.4 percent but was down 0.7 percent from the previous year. 
Statewide, the unemployment rate sits at 3.3 percent for April, down 0.5 percent from the previous month. Last year at this time, the state unemployment rate sat at 4 percent. 
The highest unemployment rates in the state were found in Big Horn County at 4.5 percent and Fremont, Park and Uinta counties, all at 3.9 percent. The lowest unemployment rates in the state were reported in Niobrara County at 2.2 percent and Albany and Converse counties, both at 2.6 percent
The research and planning division has scheduled the May employment release for June 25.