Unemployment Declines to 2.3% in December
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 2.3% for December, which is the third-lowest unemployment rate in the nation. In October the agency reported an unemployment rate of 2.7% and in November, the agency reported a 2.5% unemployment rate, also ranking third in the nation for both months.
“This is great news for Oklahoma and marks the third consecutive month that we have hit a historic low unemployment rate in our state,” said Shelley Zumwalt, OESC Executive Director. “We also reached a historic high in terms of the number of people working in our state, with more than 1.8 million people in the workforce, an increase of more than 5,000 from November to December. Thanks to the focused efforts of our administration, state leaders and OESC, Oklahoma is one of the states leading the nation in its recovery from the economic impact of the pandemic.”
The current unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been since the current methodology was implemented in 1976. The state’s labor force grew to 60.4% in December, which is very near the pre-pandemic rate of 60.6%. Preliminary data shows that several industries, including mining and logging, manufacturing, retail trade, and leisure and hospitality industries, saw job gains of approximately 2,000 in December.
“Historically low unemployment also means that many employers are still looking to fill open positions,” said Zumwalt. “For the past nine months, Oklahoma has had more than 100,000 open job positions. In November, there were more than 2.4 available jobs for every unemployed Oklahoman. At OESC, we are continuing to prioritize workforce development through our re-employment services and connecting those in need of jobs to open and high-quality opportunities.”
