On Tuesday Mar. 28, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released a report showing that while the average state personal income increased by 3.6 percent in 2016, Wyoming’s decreased by 1.7 percent.
Director of Energy Economics and UW Associate Professor Robert Godby said things are not as bad as the report may lead people to believe.
“The worst quarter last year was during the summer,”Godby said. “But then it rose by 0.6 percent at the end of the year, and that increase almost lines up exactly with our economy.”
Despite the 1.7 percent decrease, Wyoming still averages higher personal income than the rest of the country.
According to a 2016 report by the Economic Analysis Division (EAD), Wyoming’s average personal income was $55,212 per capita while the rest of the country came in at $49,571 on average.
“We are still in the top ten of states in terms of personal income, I believe we are ninth” Godby said.
Godby said the summer dip can be attributed to the mass layoffs in Wyoming coal mines last Spring and the continuinal decline in the oil and gas economy.
“We had some significant layoffs in the coal sector in early spring last year, which would be considered the first quarter,” Godby said. “These layoffs along with continuing layoffs in the oil and gas sectors contributed to an overall slow-down in the economy.”
Struggles in the mineral extraction sectors may also have led a decline in Wyoming’s population.
According to a report from the EAD, Wyoming’s population declined by 0.2 percent last year, equal to roughly 1000 people.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it was the first time the state has experienced a decline in population since 1990.
Chief Economist of the Wyoming Division of Economic Analysis Wenlin Liu, said the population decline is clearly tied to the state’s energy industry.
“The bottom line is that Wyoming lost about a third of its mineral extraction jobs, which comes out to about 9,000 jobs,” Godby said. “The economy has been really struggling over the past two years.”
Godby said things are looking up for the mineral extraction sectors.
“Since the middle of last year, we have seen coal production pick up a bit along with oil and gas production,” Godby said. “It is not rebounding back to what it was, but it has finally stopped falling and has actually gained a little bit.”
