County still tops statewide employment rankings

Crook County’s position in the state’s unemployment rankings is holding steady this summer. With just 2.6% of citizens unemployed, the county sat at number four on the statewide list during the month of June.

Ahead of Crook County are Teton and Niobrara counties, both at 2.2%, and Weston County at 2.5%.

The statistics are an improvement on this time last year, when Crook County had 4.4% unemployment, and is also lower than the state average of 3.1% for June.

Overall, Wyoming has slowly been returning to its pre-pandemic unemployment levels. The peak of the disturbance to the workforce caused by COVID-19 was in May, 2020, when the state’s unemployment rate was at 8.6%; it has been steadily dropping since that time.

The dropping unemployment rates are meanwhile offset by an increase in jobs within Wyoming. Between June 2021 and June 2022, 6200 jobs were added in this state, an increase of 2.2%.

During the same period, unemployment rates fell in every county, with the largest decreases from 6.7% to 4% in Natrona County and 5.4% to 2.9% in Converse County. Campbell County saw the third largest decrease, from 6.1% to 3.6%.

This, according to the Department of Workforce Services, represents a return to “normal” levels after the pandemic.

In June, the highest unemployment rate in Wyoming was 4.2% in Sweetwater County, followed by 4% in Natrona County.