While Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry might be in a holding pattern even with a drop in rig activity, the state’s economy continues strong and the unemployment rate dropped again in May.
The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported the jobless rate dropped to 3.2 percent in May while the nation’s unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent for the month. Oklahoma’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down 0.3 percent compared to May of 2018 and declined one-tenth of a percent from April 2019.
Out of a labor force of 1,828,690, at least 1,769,690 were employed and 59,000 were not employed. The 59,000 out of work Oklahomans compared to 59,746 in April and 60,132 in March 2019.
In percentage point terms, the number of unemployment dropped by 746 or 1.2 percent. And over the year, the seasonally adjusted unemployment fell by 4,879 persons or 7.6 percent.
In the Mining and Logging sector where oil and gas employment is figured, the May 2019 employment was 52,800, down from the 53,700 in April but the same as May of 2018. The loss of 900 jobs in the industry from April to May 2019 was 1.7 percent.
