economic analysis

Recently released data indicate that 5,700 more jobs were added during this period, a two percent increase from the same period the year before. Taxable revenue increased by nearly 14 percent with several sectors, including mineral extractions, experiencing major upticks. Tourism and hospitality and professional and business service sectors all added workers, among others. But while some did better than others, unemployment also rose. Wyoming still lagged slightly behind the national average growth rate for this period.

WalletHub released their analysis that also listed the Cowboy State as ranking highly in the amount of federal contracts and financial assistance received and lowest in the amounts of grants received per dollar in federal taxes paid. The Cowboy State comes in behind Alaska, West Virginia, Mississippi, Kentucky, and New Mexico respectively.

"Wyoming: The Paradox of Plenty" was released in late 2022 and was written by Dave Freudenthal, a Democratic two-term governor who served in office from 2003-2011. It examines the state's tax structure, economic and political history, and how mineral extraction and the energy industry grew to play an outsized role as the state's major economic driver. It also calls into question the notion of Wyoming being an independent, self-sufficient state, among other topics.

The Wyoming Division of Economic Analysis released statistics for the third quarter of 2022 which indicate that major economic drivers such as the mining and energy sectors have added jobs but still lag behind their pre-COVID figures. The leisure and hospitality and professional and business services sectors added some of the most jobs during that time. Despite gains over the last decade in diversifying its economy, the Cowboy State still ranks as one of the least economically diversified states nationally.

The analysis also found that other rural and energy-rich states, such as Oklahoma and North Dakota also ranked highly in energy costs.