Manufacturing growth in Oklahoma and Midwest states is only modest

 

Manufacturing activity in Oklahoma and other states that make up the 10th District of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City continues to grow but only modestly.

The November Manufacturing Survey, according to Chad Wilkerson, vice president and economist  at the bank showed manufacturing activity is still below levels of a year ago but expectations for the future activity remained solid.

“While regional factories reported another month of growth, activity still has not returned to preCOVID levels,” said Wilkerson. “A sizable share of firms said they cannot find skilled workers,
but low sales growth and COVID-related uncertainty also restrained their hiring plans.”

Over half of firms reported an inability to find skilled workers and the lack of qualified applicants is one of the biggest factors restraining hiring plans. A significant share of firms also had restrained hiring plans due to low expectations for sales growth and uncertainty about the pandemic or Coronavirus-related regulations.

The survey encompassed the district that includes the western third of Missouri, all of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming and the northern half of New Mexico.