Employment in local education continues to grow at a slow but steady rate despite decreasing school enrollments. Student enrollment in primary and secondary schools during 1991 was 98,226 and rose to 100,899 in the 1993-1994 school year. Enrollment has been declining since that time and during the 1998-1999 school year held at 94,420 statewide. It is likely that Wyoming's school enrollments will remain flat over the next few years. Employment in this sector is expected to grow by 1.0 percent per year, rising to 25,800 by 2008.
Funding is a stronger driver of employment in education than enrollments.
The population in Wyoming grew over 1.0 percent each year from 1991 to 1994, as the annual net in-migration exceeded 2,000 persons during these years. The state has experienced net out-migration since 1995, increasing to over 2,500 in 1997. Net migration is forecast to be negative each year from 1999 to 2008. This means that the number of people who leave the state is expected to exceed the number of people who move to Wyoming. This age group is projected to continue to decline through the forecast, but at a decreasing rate.