Most Oklahoma metro areas had more people working in August
Oklahomans continued to see improved employment conditions in most of the state’s largest cities in August, compared to the same time a year earlier.
Nonseasonal adjusted jobless rates for August were lower in Enid, Oklahoma City and Tulsa than they were during the same month the year before, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In the Oklahoma City metro, the jobless rate inched down to 4.3 percent from 4.4 percent a year earlier. Tulsa’s unemployment rate in August was 4.9 percent, down from 5.4 percent a year earlier. Enid’s rate fell to 3.9 percent from 4.4 percent.
The only increase was in Lawton, where the unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in August 2016. Its preliminary unemployment estimate for August 2017 is 5 percent, the data shows.
Lynn Gray, director of economic research and analysis for the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, said nonseasonal adjusted payroll employment for the Oklahoma City area grew by 2,100 jobs in August and is up 9,200 jobs for the last 12 months.
However, he also said the growth reported for August was smaller than what the agency typically sees.
“Over the last 10 previous years, payroll growth for August (in the Oklahoma City area) has averaged 4,300,” he wrote in notes accompanying county-level unemployment data released Wednesday by the commission.
Industry sectors that contributed to the weakerthan-normal growth included construction, manufacturing, retail trade and leisure and hospitality, he wrote.
As for the county data, the commission’s report showed that unemployment was highest in August in McIntosh County, which was estimated at a nonseasonal adjusted rate of 8.3 percent.
Unemployment was lowest in August in Grant County, at 2.6 percent.