Albany county is tied for first in the state of Wyoming for the lowest unemployment rate.
As of December 2016, the unemployment rate in Albany County was reported at 2.8% of the total workforce, according to the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. This rate is lower than the major mineral-extracting counties such as Campbell (6.0%), Fremont (6.4%) and Natrona (6.6%).
“We see this fairly often that Albany county has the lowest unemployment rate in the state,” David Bulard, Senior Economist for the Wyoming Department of Workforce services said. “There’s a couple of things going on. First of all, with a large government sector there in Albany county, employment tends to be pretty stable. Also, Albany county doesn’t have much in the way of oil and gas activity the way many counties do in Wyoming.”
Anne Alexander, UW Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Education, said that the University is another reason to why the unemployment rate is so low in Albany county.
“Yep , [full time students are] part of the reason our unemployment rate in this county is low,” Alexander said. “Our civilian labor force does not count full time students. Now, structurally, that means that most people who are here are either not in the labor force by BLS standards, or they move here for a job.”
Albany’s high ranking could also come as a result of the county’s relative economic diversity.
“If you look at those counties, the one thing you can say about Albany county and Teton to a lesser degree, is that the structure of those economies is significantly different from the rest of the state,” Rob Godby, UW Director of Economics and Public Policy, said.
With economic diversification being a major goal for the state going forward, Albany and Teton counties may serve as positive examples in the state.
“Albany and, to a lesser degree, Teton county would be good examples that what we really need to do is look for opportunities that are less related to energy and commodity production as we diversify the state,” Godby said.
Alexander said that there may be other state solutions as well.
“It’s possible that the incubation of small, growing firms and retention of our own successful businesses, ‘mining in your own backyard’ they call it, would be a good model for others,” Alexander said. “ Some counties have this figured out.”
While Albany may not be the state’s richest county, Alexander said there is value in a steady economy.
“We’re not the richest county in the state, but we have less severe swings than others. There’s something to be said for that,” Alexander said.
