Wyoming is experiencing a workforce exodus that will set the state on a long-term economic decline unless it grapples with how to enable communities to attract quality, knowledge-based jobs to compete with surrounding states, the Wyoming Business Council’s top officials say.
“What we’re finding is that, by and large, the [job] opportunities in Wyoming are not good enough, and there aren’t enough of them to retain our youth,” the council’s CEO, Josh Dorrell, told WyoFile. “It’s actually not just the youth. We noticed that our out-migration was twice that of the national average, where we have more out-migration than any other state.”
Some 60% to 70% of Wyoming-born residents permanently leave the state by the time they are 30, according to analysis prepared for the business council. Businesses looking to expand or open up shop in the state report that the available workforce is their No. 1 constraint, creating a “chicken-and-egg” crisis that will require several strategies to overcome, Dorrell said, including — potentially — reforming Wyoming’s tax-and-revenue system currently built around its extractive industries.
“They want places that have a vibrant workforce,” Dorrell said. “They don’t want a lot of the things that we think are important, like low taxes. Very rarely, if ever, do we hear a company say, ‘We like you because of your low taxes.’ It just doesn’t happen.”
The business council began ringing alarm bells in May when it was scheduled to appear before the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee. It prepared a presentation highlighting the problem, “long-term economic decline in Wyoming,” and proposed policy changes to address it. The committee ran out of time to hear the business council and rescheduled the discussion for its next meeting July 29-30 in Casper.
Reformations
Wyoming’s long-beleaguered tax-and-revenue system that stunts economic growth is at the root of the problem, according to both the business council and the Wyoming Association of Municipalities. That’s a larger conversation for lawmakers, they say. For its part, the council wants to reform its own Business Ready Community grant and loan program.
The program, which typically requires a small match, is intended to help towns and counties fund business-related infrastructure, like extending water and sewer to business parks. But it has proven ineffective in the face of increasing competition for businesses that require a skilled workforce for knowledge-based jobs, according to Dorrell and his team.
From 2004 to 2019, more than $416 million has been granted to support 396 projects across the state. “And what we found,” Dorrell said, “is that it has not made the difference that it should have.”
What’s needed are projects that enable businesses to tap into infrastructure and that improve the quality of life throughout the community. The focus, Dorrell said, should be more broadly rooted in community-wide resiliency. Rawlins, for example, can extend water lines to a business center, but that wouldn’t fix the town’s larger need to modernize its water system throughout the community where workers would live.
That particular concept “is on the right track, fundamentally,” Wyoming Association of Municipalities Executive Director Ashley Harpstreith said. “If you’re looking at the core of what government should be doing to be ready for businesses, it does come back to infrastructure and adequately funding our infrastructure.”
But the other reforms the business council proposes for the program will be hard to swallow for towns and counties. The council proposes increasing the grant and loan program’s required match to a minimum of 25%. The purpose, according to the business council, is to entice communities to raise more of their own revenue via the optional sales tax and mill levies.
“When we put a little pressure on leaders in our communities, they always rise to the occasion,” Wyoming Business Council Chief Strategy Officer Sarah Fitz-Gerald said. Raising the match requirement will force local leaders to engage more closely with residents about how they want to secure their economic future and, ideally, result in smarter business projects, Fitz-Gerald added.
Harpstreith doesn’t necessarily disagree with the premise, she said. But local governments have long struggled to increase their revenues via optional sales taxes and mills. Communities are even in a tighter pinch now that lawmakers slashed property taxes by 25%.
“I just think it’s going to highlight, honestly, the inability for locals to raise funds right now in these trying times,” Harpstreith said. “But I also think, on the positive side, it does really realign the [Business Ready Community] program the way I think it was initially intended.”
Click here to learn more about the business council’s proposed rules changes regarding the Business Ready Community program. The council is accepting public comment on the changes through July 27. Click here to comment.
From what I can see, Wyoming’s boom and bust energy jobs attract dudes from Alabama and Texas who come up, work their tails off, party hard, buy very expensive pickup trucks, and go home–rather than families who come to stay and build Wyoming communities.
We teach so students can pass national requirements, no wonder they leave to work where national requirements are of benefit. Wonder why they leave?
Lots of good comments that highlight part of the problem. The part that no one wants to talk about is Wyoming’s revenue system. As far back as the Sullivan administration the Legislature has been told that a stable revenue system is more important in attracting new business than low taxes. If low taxes were the draw that the Legislature wants you to believe it is, businesses would be tripping over each other to move here. Larger corporations will not spend millions to move here when the revenue system is clearly incapable of meeting the needs of the state long term (boom and bust revenue cycles are not confidence builders). Eliminating taxes that support basic services will only make Wyoming less attractive. If the goal of the Freedom Caucus is to turn Wyoming into even more of a third world country they are certainly succeeding
This story highlights a problem that’s been ongoing for decades. There are no easy solutions, in my opinion.
I’m one of those “under 30” that left Wyoming for better professional opportunities in 1985, at age 23. I know many dozens of Wyoming high school & UW graduates around my age that left to do well professionally and personally…in other states
Reminds me of a former Wyoming governor’s quote:
“…Wyoming’s top export products are bright, ambitious high school and college graduates…”
The problem has existed for many years. I graduated high school and the University of Wyoming. When I graduated way back in 1969, there were no jobs available. I volunteered in the Army during the Viet Nam war. When I got back from the Army I put out a lot of applications where I could use my education. There were no jobs in Wyoming. Most of the people I graduated with had to leave. I took over my parents’ business. We had ninety kids in our graduating class. All but a handful left the state. We educated our youth and sent them to other states for their benefit. Wyoming has been a boom-and-bust state. I survived. We send our resources and youth to benefit the rest of the country. Fast forward, my daughter became an RN and practiced at the hospital in Evanston. The hospital had to cut services and RN’s were doing their job and the jobs of the CNA. She could see the writing on the wall and became a traveling nurse. Since then, me and my wife and most of my family has followed her to Pueblo Colorado where they could find well-paying jobs. Pueblo is booming and has the largest windmill manufacturing in the US and has welcomed solar programs. Back in 2016 I ran for county commissioner saying I wanted economic development. My opponents wanted to keep things just like are. I lost. We had a commission zone out over a hundred new windmills. Our legislature turned away the Medicaid expansion and wonders why our hospital we can’t compete with our neighboring state and the hospital just did away with OBGYN and maternity and sent the business to Utah. Why would anyone not want to put a business in Wyoming?
Following is my feedback to the state.
Im a rancher and professional geologist, and a veteran of the Army.
I arrived in Wyoming as a geologist in 1974.
As one that is focused on starting a helo contract firm rurally based, there is zero support for veteran owned small business setup and support in Wyoming, nor are there mechanisms in place to foster a positive business climate in the State.
Currently, other states in the Rocky Mountain region are vying for me to relocate my firm to their states. I personally love Wyoming for its land, the people, and the great benefits it offers.
As I write this feedback there are incoming messages from other Rocky Mountain States with various offers of support.
Im giving Wyoming the chance to make it viable for folks such as myself to stay and remain a part of Wyoming.
However, the apparent focus is on other things not relevant to economic growth, higher wages, and stability for Wyoming.
Its as if Wyoming is stuck in another era and not the present.
” It takes longer for those with specialized
skills to acquire employment in Wyoming due to a glaring deficit in diversified industries.
The current view is that Wyoming has an abundant range of natural resources that can create high wage opportunities for Wyoming workers, however, the state is not promoting that as well as exploration, development, and extraction of natural resources in existence and those yet to ne discovered.
Those with such advanced skill sets should receive extended employment benefits longer.
At present there is a glaring lack of support continuity, along with evident age based discrimination, a lack of support for veterans, especially those with disabilities.
It is understandable why Wyoming has a high rate of suicide from the lack of support during employment transitions and the time it takes to acquire economically sustainable wage employment as a result of peoples initiative to complete an advanced education and acquire skill sets.
Having a bunch of rich neophytes buying property in Wyoming and building data centers does not make Wyoming well off and create a sustainable economy for its residents.
Wyoming needs to stop whoring itsself out to huge conglomerates and billionaire techies whom want to own every square inch of Wyoming, destroy our rural way of life and traditions. Doing so will lock the State in a vicious master serf cycle that isnt MAGA.
Try hunting and fishing in Wyoming when the outsiders along with their private armies own the lands. Good luck with that one.
That is the present status quo while both trade and degreed workers are fleeing Wyoming faster than ever due to the increasingly stale economic situation in Wyoming.
Wyoming often looks at a gift horse ( real talent and world experience) and ignores it.”
Think on these things
Mr Anderson — This is a great summary. Thank you for sharing some good points to think about .
Wake up Wyoming!!! You still don’t get it!!! If you want a workforce you have to pay the workers what they are worth! And stop leading the nation in on the job deaths!!! It’s not rocket science! You keep trying to pad the wallets of businesses— how long until you see trickle down economics don’t work? Start paying workers living wages, and they will stick around. None of you decision makers work for peanuts – why should anyone else! It’s dumbfounding that WBC, the legislature, the governor, and the Workforce Development Council all look at what WORKERS need last – if at all while scratching their heads on this one.
Ask workers what they want- they will tell you – livable wages, a safe workplace, adequate health insurance and health care, and promise to retire with dignity! NONE of those are on your list to keep workers in the state. I’d be laughing if it weren’t so damn sad….
As someone who left Wyoming at age 23 (and who has been back for a few months here and there for work), this article totally misses the point. If someone wants to live in a city with lots of amenities, that’s where they’ll move. Is the entire state of Wyoming supposed to be developed like Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, etc.? The only reason I left was because real estate prices were insane, due to the oil boom at the time and the corresponding housing shortage. Who wants to work hard six or seven days a week just to live in a camper, trailer, or apartment? I moved to a similar area (semi-rural, low population) 1,500 miles away, got a job working five normal days per week, and was able to afford a house and have a relatively comfortable life.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love Wyoming and would move back if I had the opportunity. But the people who live there or want to live there are looking for the lower population, open spaces, and freer lifestyle. Even if you manage to turn Wyoming into a metropolis, you’re still going to have similar problems, because you’re still competing against established large cities with more amenities, jobs, and investment opportunities. Ask a 20-something if they’d rather live in Cheyenne or Austin, and you’ll have all the insight you need.
Wyoming needs to embrace its cultural identity instead of trying to become a facsimile of every other growing state.
That is a great comment. Spot on! These “economic development” people are always clueless.
Gov. Mead included the creation of the ENGAGE in the ENDOW strategic plan in 2018. In summary, those who participated (18-35 yo.) wanted a “space not only for those demonstrating our traditional Wyoming heritage, but also cherishing those outside of the cowboy paradigm.” This group still meets with young people and per their latest post in March on why young people leave the state, comments include “Some people do not feel welcome,” “limited diversity,” “politics.”
The State asked in 2018, ignored the answers people provided (passed some policies that actively make the situation worse), and now act stumped or like this news is new… the WBC did not need to study this, the same issues were published in the 2018 ENDOW report. There are dozens of issues, and this is only one, but to have it straight from the people who are leaving and then to ignore it… This would be far more valuable and interesting if someone challenged the WBC, Legislature, Governor, and the like to actually address the comments and feedback from ENGAGE. Can’t wait for the regurgitated 2030 report to come out.
Wyoming has several issues that we refuse to tackle.
While we like to portray ourselves as a business friendly state, it’s not necessarily easy to do business at the State, County or Local Level. There are other states far easier to do business in. One commenter mentioned Cheyenne is on the right track. To some degree that is true, Cheyenne and Laramie County have invested in business parks and economic development for many many years – significant private investment through the business community. We have a very successful organization in Cheyenne LEADs, but that has taken years of investment to come to fruition. But the flip side there are issues with the regulatory environment. Ask anybody in Laramie County that has recently developed a project how difficult the process was – along with the ongoing onslaught of regulations and gauntlet of agencies to work through. When the comment is “I’m not doing that again” or contractors refuse to work in the City, you know you have a problem. Additionally, on one hand the City wants affordable housing, on the other hand fees and regulations continue to climb – and they cannot figure out why the affordable housing problem is not solved. Or the barriers government agencies at the state and local level put up that slows or sometimes even stalls business growth. Stalled business growth is lost opportunity.
And it’s not all on the legislature either – frankly it is on all of us. We do a terrible job of selling ourselves as a state where opportunity exists. And it’s not a bad thing to grow some wings and experience other areas of the US. What we fail to do is create an attractive enough environment to bring those folks back into the fold. We fail to challenge all assumptions and create a better business environment where people will want to come back to. We talk a good game, but fail to deliver on the business friendly environment.
There are opportunities here, sometimes a little harder to carve out, but they are here. I work with entrepreneurs every day that have carved out a unique business or strategy – that outsource their product/service outside the borders of Wyoming – and rarely does anybody in the business community know they exist.
As far as housing, it’s not greedy builders, but its the cost of doing business. Sure, other states may have less expensive housing, but what about insurance costs, property taxes – Kansas is the 16th highest in property taxes, Wyoming the 12th lowest. Kansas also has the 9th highest sales tax rate at just under 9% average when factoring local taxes. Kansas also has a state income tax. Everything is relative.
Maybe WyoFile and the Wyoming Business Council should spend some time talking to those that chose to stay or chose to come back and find out what the attraction was – and leverage that to develop a better business environment – not run by a bunch of old folks like myself, but the next generation.
Just about everything that young people want and like, Wyoming and its legislature seems to hate, so young people go elsewhere. All we have left are the wealthy six months and a day millionaires with McMansions in in the sun belt looking for a tax haven, and a few oil, gas, and coal workers who will be gone with the Wyoming wind as soon as their jobs dry up.
The new term Extractive Industry meaning miners working to supply,coal (low sulfur Wyoming coal) ,oil, natural gas, and minerals for baking and fertilizer were heavily attacked with the regulator Clean Air Act. Wyoming has been a huge player in those industries but sales ,leases and regulations have ruined the employment chances for Wyoming. Globally all these industries continue to get resources from other countries and states not changing anything the Clean Air Act theory was to do. Meanwhile schools are short budgeted,towns are stalling in their own shadows while all the support businesses that feed , clothed, maintain vehicles and provide a little recreation area going out of business. This is only one core industry of Wyoming, tourism is probably the thing keeping things affloat but it’s a seasonal and part-time industry with a mentality of hiring just part timers on limited hours with zero future of incentives and increasing local tax based.
This is a complex issue, but I’ll comment on just a couple of key points. When the oil and gas boom occurred, businesses didn’t come here for the low taxes; they came for the resource. In fact, we taxed them heavily, and they didn’t seem to care. Most industry players formed or contributed to local non-profits that developed community infrastructure, such as the Overthrust Industrial Alliance, McMurry Foundation, and True Family. The same holds true for modern business; their resource is talent. Business follows talent, and talent tends to gravitate towards vibrant communities. For some reason, the new legislative branch believes that we’re overtaxed when, in reality, communities and programs are grossly underfunded. We’re suffocating our communities, and the workforce is voting with their feet.
Now on the other hand, local governments need to get their crap together and start investing in the right areas. Reduce regulatory burdens and encourage growth. Cheyenne and Mayor Collins are on the right path. Stay positive, work together, and vote for the right people and policies. The sky isn’t falling, yet.
Just wait. When they sale off our public lands there will be no reason to stay here. The only thing left will be fake Christian’s trying to escape taxes and trying to control your Women.
There are a number of major reasons for out-migration. All stem from the State Legislature.
The first reason is that by moving ever more towards the maga political fringe State level leaders seem to be putting economic and infrastructure development in the hands of towns and counties. Other than a couple communities, there is no political entity that funds infrastructure repair and upgrade that has the resources to do so. Bleizeffer uses Rawlins water distribution problems as an example, but my guess is that a survey of towns and counties would show most are in a similar boat.
A second reason stemming from the maga political fringe is the answer to the question, “Why would I move to Wyoming when the Legislature wants the University to allow weapons on campus, where our poorest family members are denied medicaid, schools are underfunded, non-white, non-Christian persons aren’t much welcomed, substance abuse and suicide are epidemic, domestic violence hidden and prevalent?”
A third can be found in Michael Madden’s 12-8-2020 overview of Wyoming’s tax/revenue base. Wyoming’s economy is mineral industry centered. In the next decades the need for coal will continue to lessen. The State will have fewer and fewer resources to help communities develop healthier water/sewer/school/road conditions that might attract new businesses and keep our children from leaving. In part this comes from citizen reluctance to tax ourselves and wean ourselves from dependence on the extractive industries.
Wyoming has so much going for it, but backward looking thinking seems to rule the day. I wonder how serious the out-migration and economic decline will become before more community supporting legislators are elected.
Jeff I was thinking about Maddens article when I was reading this. Another point that Mike made was when businesses that are not in the extractive industry move in they are a net drain on the economy, the workers use more in services than their taxes pay for due to our tax structure. At some point Wyomings taxation methods will have to change, or it will just become a potholed windswept yard of rusted antiques. More so than it already is. Businesses want services to attract employees and need the infrastructure. Low taxes don’t do any good if you can’t get people to even pay the taxes.
If the legislature does away with property taxes, these loans and grants, provided by the business council, will become unattainable by the towns and cities. Every single local and optional tax and mill levy that is structured on top of the state sales tax rate will at least have to double or possibly triple. And we all know how Wyomingites love paying regressive sales taxes.
I wonder if part of it might be because “qualified” people are leaving Wyoming because of its politics.
Maybe they should look at the greed in housing people can move elsewhere and earn the same as in Wyoming and yet they can rent or purchase a home for a fraction of what it costs in Wyoming.My son is transferring to Kansas for the same wages and yet he can purchase a home there for 80,000 that the same home they value in Cheyenne for the overinflated value of 300,000 and you wonder why the property taxes are so high.(Greed from the Banking,Developer and real estate people)
@Steven Kelley this is exactly what made me leave in my twenties- working hard six or seven days per week, making what should have been good money, yet unable to afford even a starter home. I moved to another state where I could get more house for less money than even the most remote places in Wyoming.
It’s unfortunate, because I grew up there and love the state, with all of its open spaces and outdoor recreation, but at some point people want to have a home of their own instead of throwing money away on inflated rent.
WHAT? The displaced workers are not sticking around for the “green energy” Revolution? How shocking. Who will build the windmills? I guess we will have to use cheap labor from south of Border.