County jobless rate holds steady, still tops the state

Big Horn County’s unemployment rate rose from May of a year ago but remained steady from April, according to the Research and Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. Other statistics, including labor force, employment and the unemployment numbers, have climbed from April to May, but most decreased from May 2024 to May 2025.

Big Horn County’s May 2025 unemployment rate is 3.9%, same as April 2025, but it is 0.5% higher than May 2024, when it was 3.4%. It is also higher than Wyoming’s average unemployment rate.

Wyoming’s average unemployment rate is 3.3%, which is “slightly higher than its May 2024 level of 3.1% but much lower than the current U.S. unemployment rate of 4.2%,” according to the Department of Workforce Services.

The state report added, “From April to May, most county unemployment rates rose slightly,” calling the increase “somewhat unusual for county unemployment rates.”

Big Horn County also stayed with the state trend of its unemployment rate raising from May 2024 to May 2025, which was a common trend for almost all the counties in Wyoming. 

In May it was found that Big Horn County had the highest unemployment rate in Wyoming at 3.9%, with Platte County close behind at 3.8% and Fremont County and Niobrara County at 3.6%.

Big Horn County’s unemployed number for May 2025 was 194, 1 fewer than April 2025’s 195 and 12 higher than May 2024’s 182.

 The labor force for May 2025 was at 5,027, up from April 2025, which was 4,968. It has dropped though from May 2024, when the labor force totaled 5,295. 

The number of employed workers in May 2025 was 4,833, which is up from April at 4,773 but down from May 2024, when 5,113 workers were employed in the county.

Current Employment Statistics estimated that the total nonfarm jobs in Wyoming have risen from 295,600 in May of 2024 to 297,900 in May 2025, an increase of 2,300 jobs in Wyoming or 0.8%.