Tagged: Economic Analysis Division

The cost of living in Wyoming rose in the second quarter of 2012, compared with the same time last year. That’s according to the state Economic Analysis Division, which calculated a 2.4-percent inflation across six cost of living categories, including rent and food prices. Wyoming Senior Economist Amy Bittner says that’s higher than the national average. “The us over that same time period, measured by the US Consumer Price index was 1.7 percent,” Bittner said. Bittner says a 3.4-percent rise in the cost of rent statewide accounted for a large portion of the state’s inflation.

Teton County is the most expensive county in the Wyoming to live in, compared to the statewide average. That’s according to the State Economic Analysis Division.

Amy Bittner is a senior economist with the Economic Analysis Division. The statewide average index number is 100, and Bittner says in Teton County, the index number for consumer goods reached 133 in the fourth quarter of last year.

Natural gas prices have declined steadily in recent months. The price of gas produced at the Opal Hub in south central Wyoming has dropped by about 60 cents since June.

Jim Robinson is the senior economist for the state Economic Analysis Division. He says gas development has grown in Wyoming, but it’s increasing drastically in other states as well, including Pennsylvania and New York.

Oil and gas jobs in Wyoming rose sharply in 2011, according to the state Economic Analysis Division.

There were more than 18,000 drilling, mining and support jobs in Wyoming as of November. That’s almost 3,000 more than a year before.

State Senior Economist Jim Robinson says these jobs are a subsector of the mining industry, and this growth is a sign of a thriving energy industry.