unemployment

This year’s rate is considerably higher than February of last year, at 2.8%, but still well below the national unemployment rate of 4.1%.

While the state’s rate is almost a full point higher than last year, it’s still below the current national unemployment rate of 4%.

The uptick follows a gradually rising trend, which can be normal for this time of year for certain sectors.

Soda ash is Wyoming’s largest export. It’s in things like baking soda and glass, and it comes from the mineral trona. The industry relies on trona miners in Sweetwater County, but many are without jobs this week due to layoffs at Genesis Alkali.

The state Department of Workforce Services notes it’s somewhat unusual for jobless rates to increase in August. The department says this perhaps suggests that economic growth is moderating around the state.

The state’s rate has remained low even as the national unemployment rate has climbed in each of the past three months, rising from 3.8 percent in March to 4.3 percent in July.

The state’s Department of Workforce Services reports Wyoming’s seasonally adjusted rate was 2.9 percent. That’s much lower than the current U.S. unemployment rate of 4.1 percent.

Prices in the Mountain West are soaring. The Labor Department reported this week a year-to-year inflation rate of 8.5%, the highest rise in consumer prices since 1981. Broken down by region, the Mountain West stands out with a 10.4% spike.

Ryan Tyler is looking for a job. He's Northern Arapaho and already employed but with all the options available at the Fremont County Job fair he wants to keep his choices open.I asked him what he wants in an ideal job and he surprisingly didn't say anything about a starting wage.

Nationwide there's a worker shortage — you've probably seen in your own town lots of 'Help Wanted' signs. Well, this rings true in southwest Wyoming, where the energy, manual labor, and tourism industries play a unique role. Wyoming Public Radio's Caitlin Tan brings us the story.