County employment numbers decrease

Hot Springs County saw a 8.6 percent decrease in total payroll and a decrease of 90 fewer in monthly employment between the second quarter of 2014 and the second quarter of 2015, according to data released last month by the research and planning division of the state Department of Workforce Services.

Average monthly employment in Hot Springs County dropped from 2,127 in the second quarter of 2014 to 2,037 in the second quarter of 2015. Total payroll decreased from about $19.7 million in the second quarter of 2014 to about $18 million in the second quarter of 2015.

Average weekly wages also decreased by $33, or 4.6 percent, from $714 to $681. In numbers, Sweetwater County had the largest decrease in jobs by 825 and the largest decrease in total payroll by 20.5 million.

The largest job losses were in mining, oil and gas, construction and manufacturing.

Across Wyoming, average monthly employment fell by 1,483 jobs or 0.5 percent.

Total payroll fell by $24.4 million or 0.8 percent in the second quarter of 2015.