Statewide unemployment rose slightly in August.
The Wyoming Department of Workforce services says it was 5-point-7 percent, rising a tenth of a percent from the month before, but is lower than the same month last year. It remains well below the national average jobless rate of 8-point-1 percent.
Senior Economist David Bullard says Wyoming’s economy weakened during the summer.
"Bullard Natural gas prices have remained fairly low, and we’ve heard media reports of coal mines cutting back production, laying off some workers.”
Still, Bullard says, the increase has slowed and appears to be stabilizing. He adds that about 30 other US states saw unemployment numbers climb during the summer.
For the month of August, Fremont County posted the highest unemployment rate in the state at 6.6 percent, followed by Lincoln County at 6.4 percent, Big Horn at 6.1 percent and Laramie at 5.9 percent.
Sublette County had the lowest rate at 3.5 percent, followed by Teton at 4.1 percent, and Niobrara and Converse counties both at 4.2 percent.
