Wyoming jobless rate up slightly

The Department of Workforce Services says the unemployment rate increased slightly in July, for the second month in a row.

Carola Cowan with the Bureau of Labor Statistics says there are a number of possible reasons for the increase.

“Job gains from natural resources and mining have slowed down from earlier in the year,” Cowan said. “Natural gas prices have remained low, so that kind of affects us. Also, the national recovery has been fairly slow. … And of course the still-weak global economy.”

But Cowan says there’s no major cause for alarm.

“Unemployment did increase in 44 states, so we’re not alone,” she said. “We actually have the eighth lowest unemployment among all 50 states.”

Cowan says Wyoming’s unemployment rate is also lower than it was at this time last year.