Unemployment rate steady as state sets record for jobs
It is official — Oklahoma has recovered from its latest economic slump.
Data released Friday by state and local officials showed payroll jobs in Oklahoma climbed by 4,400 in February to reach 1,681,000.
That number, officials said, exceeds a previously set record of about 1,675,000 payroll jobs set at the end of 2014.
“We have recovered from the recession we had in 2015 and 2016 that was oil and gas related. We are back above those employment levels now,” said Lynn Gray, the director of economic research and analysis at the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
“And the level of unemployment we have is now below where it was right before that,” Gray continued. “So in both of those respects, the number of jobs and the number of unemployed, we have recovered.
“That is a nice milestone there — that we’ve passed that difficult time period.”
Other items of interest, Gray noted, are:
• The commission estimates the number of unemployed Oklahomans declined in February by 1,087 to 75,134, and that total employment increased by 3,783.
• Oklahoma added 31,300 jobs during the past year, equaling a growth rate of 1.9 percent.
• Most industries in the state experienced job gains in February.
• Mining and Logging, which includes oil and gas, added 5,300 jobs during the past year, while the Leisure and Hospitality super sector added 6,700 jobs during the same period.
• Oklahoma set a record for mining and logging jobs at 64,800 before the oil and gas economy collapsed in early 2015. The February 2018 estimate of mining and logging jobs in the state was 50,400.
• Average weekly earnings increased in February, as hourly earnings edged higher. Over the past 12 months, average weekly earnings increased to $812.98 from $777.31.
• Oklahoma’s preliminary February unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent, the same as it has been since September 2017.
Gray said Friday he was encouraged by the latest economic results, but he also warned that regulators need to be watchful for inflationary pressures, rising wages and increased prices for consumers.
“It bears watching as we are going forward. There is a lot of stimulus right now in the economy and other government actions that could drive up inflation rates,” he said.
“There are potential issues on the horizon.”