Labor force continues to contract
BUFFALO (WNE) — Wyoming’s and Johnson County’s available workforce is shrinking as an accelerating wave of retiree exits outpaces the addition of younger workers.
David Bullard, senior economist with the Department of Workforce Services Research and Planning division said the state, and most counties, have experienced consistent decline in their labor forces year over year.
“The best understanding is that it’s really related to demographic shifts and the retirement of baby boomers and people aging out of the workforce,” Bullard said. “At the statewide level, it’s been steady declines, which is consistent with the idea of demographic shifts. People are getting older and retiring, and the kids who are getting out of school are a little
smaller than the baby boomer generation.”
According to the Research & Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services May unemployment report, from May 2025 to May 2026, the total number of employed individuals in Johnson County declined 2% from 4,293 to 4,107. The county’s total labor force – the number of employed plus the number of unemployed seeking employment – declined by 196 people, or 4.5%.
During the same period, the state’s labor force contracted by 1.4%.
Year over year, only Albany and Sheridan counties experienced labor force growth.
Bullard said that Wyoming has struggled with labor supply issues for decades.
“The way it’s worked in the past was when the state’s economy was booming, people would move here from other states to work. If we have a downturn, particularly in energy or other high-paying sectors, then people leave,” he said. “But these demographic shifts are happening at the national level, so there are fewer people who could move here if the situation warranted it.”
This story was published on July 16, 2026.
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