The U.S. economy is slowing but the labor market is still proving resilient to the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes.
U.S. employers added 236,000 jobs in March and 480,000 Americans began looking for work last month, the U.S. Labor Department reported. The DOL also reported last week that employers posted 9.9 million job openings in February.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an increase of 500 jobs in Lawton between January and February, 8,000 in Oklahoma City and 1,500 in Tulsa during the same period.
The labor force participation rate in Oklahoma was calculated at 60.8% in February, according to the DOL. Agency records extending back 47 years show the workforce participation rate in Oklahoma peaked at 65.5% in July 1986 and sunk to 58.9% in June through November 1976.
The unadjusted number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits in Oklahoma the week ending April 1 totaled 951, which was 194 fewer than the 1,145 initial claims filed the week of March 25.
Continuing claims in Oklahoma the week ending April 1 numbered 9,857, which was 629 fewer than the 10,486 continued claims during the week of March 25.
According to the BLS, Oklahoma’s unemployment rate in February was 3%. Nationally, the unemployment rate was pegged at 3.5%, just above the 53-year low of 3.4% recorded in January.
The nationwide unemployment rate in March for Black workers was 5%, the lowest level in 50 years, the BLS reported. Unemployment rates for Black women were even lower, according to the BLS: 4.2%.
Yields in the U.S. bond market rose April 7 after the job market report.
The Fed, this nation’s central bank, has raised the prime interest rate nine times in the last 13 months in attempts to drive down inflation.