Oklahoma’s jobless rate slipped a tenth of a point for October but it’s still at 5.2% according to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. And the data supplied by the state shows oil and gas employment was anemic, despite growing activity in Oklahoma’s STACK and SCOOP plays.
The October 2016 employment in the energy sector was 43,900, a drop of 600 from September but 6,200 fewer than October of 2015. The year-to-year plunge translated into a decline of 12.4% from the 50,100 still employed in October of 2015.
Oklahoma’s 5.2% statewide unemployment is out of a labor force of 1,815,604, showing 94,976 are out of work. The 5.3% in September was the highest rate so far in 2016.
