As Oklahoma’s jobless rate held steady at 4.3% for the month of June, employment grew in the state’s oil and gas industry.
Lynn Gray, Director of Economic Research and Analysis at the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported an increase of 800 jobs in the Mining sector which includes the oil and gas industry.
“So far this calendar year, the sector has added 5,500 jobs on net as each month except May has seen job gains,” said Gray in the report. “Somewhat mitigating this development is the fact that May’s estimate was revised downward by 500 jobs.”
The number of unemployed in the state was down very slightly while over the past yea the number is down by nearly 13,000. Oklahoma was one of 38 states with a stable unemployment rate in June. Ten states had a decline in the rate while Oklahoma’s has dropped over the last 12 months from 5.0% to 4.3%.
The state’s construction sector saw a gain of 1,000 jobs for June and 1,600 for the year. The number of employed in the Retail Trade increased by 2,100 for the month but was down 4,800 for the past 12 months.
“If the over-the-month preliminary estimate holds, it would be by far the best single monthly gain for the sector since March 2007,” said Gray.