Wyoming Overview

Wyoming is full of majestic mountains, wide-open grasslands, pristine lakes and extraordinary wildlife. The least-populated state in the nation, Wyoming is rich with natural resources. As a result, the Wyoming job market and economy are heavily reliant on the energy industry, which is expected to continue generating jobs for the state’s 300,000 workers.

Wyoming Job Opportunities

Wyoming is home to Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and Devils Tower National Monument, which contribute to the state’s strong government job base. The tourism industry supports the state’s 6 million annual visitors. Mineral extraction -- including coal, natural gas, crude oil and trona -- is another important economic sector, as is agriculture.

Accounting for about 25 percent of employment in Wyoming, government is the biggest Wyoming hiring sector, followed by the trade, transportation and utilities industry. Wyoming is one of the few states where government jobs have expanded. Most sectors reported job expansion in the first half of 2012 with the exception of leisure and hospitality and education/health services.

Wyoming Employment Trends

Wyoming’s recession unemployment rate peaked at 7.5 percent in late 2009 and early 2010 before falling to 5.2 percent by May 2012. Wyoming payrolls showed mild expansion from August 2010 through mid-2012. Online hiring, which was mostly constricted from mid-2011 through early 2012, turned positive in April 2012.

Moody’s Analytics forecasts jobs in Wyoming to increase 0.9 percent between Q2 2012 and Q2 2013, below the 1.3 percent growth expected in the national job supply.