Wyoming’s unemployment rate fell slightly in May from April, indicating a modest improvement in the state’s economy, according to the state Department of Workforce Services.
The agency’s Research and Planning Section said Wyoming had a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 8.8% in May, compared to a rate of 9.6% in April.
“It appears that the state’s economy improved modestly in May as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were loosened and some businesses reopened,” the DWS said in a news release.
The state’s unemployment rate was far below the national average of 13.3% and was among the lowest in the nation. Nebraska, at 5.2%, and Utah, at 8.5%, had lower rates.
However, the unemployment rate was the highest seen since March of 1987, when the rate reached 8.9%
The numbers mean that more than 25,900 people were without work in the state in May, an increase of more than 15,500 from May of 2019.
The DWS said unemployment rates fell in most counties in April, with the largest drop occurring in Teton County, where the rate fell from 18.2% to 14%, Sublette, from 22.4% to 9.8%, and Johnson County, from 9.7% to 8.1%.
The rate went up slightly in Converse County, from 6.4% to 7.3%, and Carbon County, from 6.8% to 7%.
