County unemployment jumps

The Hot Springs County Unemployment rate increased significantly from 4.2 percent in December 2015 to 5.7 percent in January 2016 according to data from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. A year ago in January the unemployment rate in the county was 4.4 percent.

In December there were 100 people unemployed in the county and in January the number of unemployed jumped to 137.

The number of employed workers in HSC dropped from 2,269 in December to 2,207 in January.

Wyoming’s state unemployment jumped to 4.7 percent in January 2016, up from 4.4 percent in December.

The state’s unemployment rate in January of 2015 was 3.8 percent according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figures show the effect of the downturn in the oil, coal and natural gas industries. The federal figures show Wyoming had the largest increase in state unemployment rate over the past year.

In Hot Springs County, the January unemployment rate of 5.7 percent is the highest rate shown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics since February of 2013.