Unemployment drops to 5% in May

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment rates across the country soared amid mass layoffs and business closures. 
According to the June 23 unemployment reported from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services Research and Planning Division, Weston County fared better than most of the state.
“Most county employment rates fell from April to May, perhaps suggesting small scale improvement in labor markets around the state,” the report says. This modest improvement occurred as the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were loosened across the state and businesses began to reopen, the report says. 
“Niobrara County had the lowest unemployment rate in May at 4.5%. It was followed by Albany County at 4.9% and Weston County at 5.0%,” the report says. “The highest unemployment rates were found in Teton County at 15%, Natrona County at 11.7% and Sublette County at 9.8%.” 
At 5% unemployment, Weston County had 188 people without jobs in May, down from 212 the previous month. Statewide, 25,374 were unemployed in May, down from 28,237 the previous month. 
Statewide unemployment was 8.7% in May, and nationally the unemployment rate was 13% in May. 
May unemployment in Weston County dropped from the 5.7% recorded in April. At this time, statewide unemployment rates were reported to be 9.6% and nationally the rate was 14.4%
While the report shows unemployment declining in nearly
every county, percentages are still significantly higher than last year’s May totals. 
“Unemployment rates were higher than a year earlier in all 23 counties,” the report states, the largest increases were in Teton, Natrona, Campbell and Sweetwater counties.
In May of 2019, Weston County had an unemployment rate of
2.8%, the third-lowest in the state at that time.  Statewide, the unemployment rate was 3.3% in May 2019, and the national unemployment rate was 3.4%. 
Unemployment rates for June are scheduled for a July 21 release.