A steady if not unspectacular decline in county unemployment is part of the highlights from the latest numbers from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.    Lincoln County, which has led the Cowboy State in unemployment numbers for over a year and a half, still holds the top spot but the decline from September of 2010 to September of this year is significant.    A year ago, Lincoln County unemployment sat at 7.4 percent.  A calendar year later, that number is down to 6.3 percent.  Wyoming is still far below the national average of 9.1 percent, with September numbers finishing at just 5.8 percent.  The state’s numbers improved by almost a complete percentage point from 6.7 percent in 2010.  While Lincoln County’s 1.1 percent improvement was a nice number, there were counties such as Carbon, Sweetwater and Natrona counties who benefited even more from an upswing in oil and gas activity.  Carbon county saw their unemployment numbers fall from 6.9 percent to 5.3 percent.  Sweetwater saw a decline from 5.8 percent to 4.4 percent and Natrona went from 6.7 percent to 5.3 percent.  Neighboring counties such as Teton, Uinta and Sublette counties are also enjoying their best employment numbers in nearly three years at 5.1, 4.9 and 2.9 percent unemployment respectively.

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