“We keep scouring through the data to find signs of an impending turnaround, but it’s just not there.” Treasurer Ken Miller on State’s economy.
Those August gross receipts to the Oklahoma Treasury still weigh heavily on the mind of Treasurer Ken Miller as he releases his monthly Oklahoma Economic Report.
He doesn’t sound optimistic about the economy brought down by the oil and gas downturn, even though as OK Energy Today reported this week, there appears to be a slight improvement in the July and August employment in the state’s oil and gas sector.
“We keep scouring through the data to find signs of an impending turnaround, but it’s just not there,” Miller said. “Some aspects of the August report aren’t as negative as in prior months – a few revenue streams have ticked up slightly – but we can’t yet point to a positive trend.”
The August receipts reflected the 18th consecutive month of a downward trend and adding to the problem was the State’s jobless rate that surpassed the national unemployment rate late in August for the first time in nearly 26 years.
Collections from gross production taxes on oil and natural gas increased from the prior month for the fourth consecutive time, reflecting a slight rebound in wellhead prices. However, compared to the prior year, receipts remain suppressed.
