CASPER (WNE) — Wyoming reported sizable job growth over 2021, though it’s still behind where it was before the coronavirus pandemic.

From the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021, Wyoming added 8,967 jobs, according to data from the Department of Workforce Services. The state’s total payroll — that is, all the money people were paid across Wyoming — rose by $312.4 million, representing an increase of 9.8%.

Leisure and hospitality businesses experienced the biggest boom by far, adding 4,632 jobs, for an overall growth rate of 12.9%.

That’s not a surprise, considering the lucrative year it had. During the summer of 2021, the industry — which includes things like restaurants, tourism and entertainment — came bounding back from its 2020 lows.

Compared to 2020, leisure and hospitality brought in millions more in sales and use tax money, according to fact sheets published by the Economic Analysis Division.

Next to leisure and hospitality, the professional and business services sector experienced the most job growth — adding 1,544 positions and growing by 8.3% from the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021. (That industry includes careers in finance, consulting and marketing, among others.)

Government jobs, in contrast, shrank over that same period. The state lost 419 federal jobs, a decrease of 4.9%. Similarly, the state government lost 204 positions, a loss of 1.6%.

The health care and social services industry decreased by 114 positions, or 0.5%. Healthcare facilities have had trouble filling their staffs full since the start of the pandemic — a trend that’s continued through 2020 and 2021.