State economy shows signs of strength in 2018

Economically speaking, 2018 was a good year for the Sooner state. Employment improved, wages were on the rise and other economic indicators reflected a strong year, according to Chad Wilkerson, the branch executive and vice president at the Oklahoma City Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. “Growth in 2018 was not limited to one sector of the economy, as the energy, manufacturing and services industries all posted solid increases while income in the agriculture sector showed some stability,” Wilkerson said in a statement. “With rising employment and positive outlooks across most industries, Oklahoma’s economy heading into 2019 also appears positive, especially if commodity prices and trade discussions stabilize.” The Oklahoma City Branch of the Federal Reserve of Kansas City releases a quarterly publication called the Oklahoma Economist, which evaluates and highlights certain aspects of the local economy. In the fourth quarter, it examined and evaluated Oklahoma’s performance throughout the year. "It was a strong year despite a yearlong concern about tariffs and some drop offs in oil prices at the end of the year," Wilkerson said. "There are some things happening now at the end of the year, oil has dropped some, but we are at a pretty strong position." The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City serves the Tenth Federal Reserve District, which includes western third of Missouri; all of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming; and the northern half of New Mexico. According to the Oklahoma Economist, the state performed particularly well in the following areas:

• Continued job growth — For most of 2018, job growth in Oklahoma exceeded the national rate, the Economist reported. Oklahoma employment was 1.4 percent higher than a year ago, and Oklahoma City and Tulsa both grew more than 2 percent in the same period.

• Payroll employment growth — Many industries in Oklahoma gained jobs, but the largest and most consistent gains have been in mining, which in Oklahoma consists almost completely of oil and gas, according to the report. Trade and transportation, leisure and hospitality and professional and business services also had good years.

• Unemployment rate — Oklahoma notched a 3.4 percent unemployment rate in October, the lowest level since May 2008. The rate has been even lower in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metropolitan areas.

• State tax revenues — Tax revenues have experienced sustained growth not seen in more than 10 years, according to the report. State sales tax revenues, overall tax revenues and income tax receipts have all grown this year.