OKLAHOMA CITY – Post-pandemic workforce shortages continue in Oklahoma.
The Senate Business and Commerce Committee held an interim study recently to determine why that’s happening and what’s needed to get Oklahomans back in the job market.
Oklahoma’s labor force participation rate – the percentage of the population that is either working or actively looking for work – was 61.8% in August, compared to a national rate of 62.8%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Statewide, the unemployment rate in August was 2.8%. In southwest Oklahoma, unemployment rates that month were 4.1% in Comanche County, 4.2% in Tillman County, 3.3% in Cotton County, 3.7% in Stephens County, 2.9% in Jackson County, 3.5% in Kiowa County, and 3.0% in Grady County.
Besides low unemployment, inadequate child care and an insufficiently educated workforce appear to be major reasons for worker shortages.
Presenters “were able to point out specific needs in education, support services and more, and share how they are collaborating to address those needs,” said Sen. Carri Hicks (D-Oklahoma City).
“We also heard about how some of our citizens are harder hit by some of the problems highlighted, like the need for quality, affordable child care in Oklahoma. It’s a family issue as well as a huge economic issue for our state, and it disproportionately impacts women.”
Drew Dugan of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce told committee members that in 2021, child care had a negative effect on more than one in 10 Oklahomans, causing them to change jobs, reduce hours, or leave jobs, resulting in unrealized productivity.
Carrie Williams, CEO of the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness, also discussed the impact of Oklahoma’s critical shortage of quality child care; 34 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties are identified as child care deserts and 55% of Oklahoma’s population lives in a child care desert, she said.
Williams also told the committee that between 2017 and 2022, Oklahoma experienced a 17.3% reduction in the number of licensed child care programs across the state. Many working families cannot afford the cost of child care.
“Access to quality child care is the backbone of a strong society and a strong economy. Absent that, families have to make hard choices about engaging in the workforce or staying home to care for their children,” Williams said. “This largely affects women in Oklahoma. If women participated in the workforce at the same rate as men, we’d see 99,000 more citizens participating in the workforce. Child care is essential.”
Education is another challenge. Chancellor Allison Garrett of the Oklahoma System of Higher Education told the committee that in four years, 70% of jobs will require education or training beyond high school, and that over the last year 56% of job postings from Oklahoma’s top 20 largest employers required an associate degree or higher.
By 2030, more than half of the state’s 100 critical occupations will require an associate degree or higher. Garrett pointed to current initiatives such as micro-credentialing, fast-track programs and public/private partnerships to address the need for well-educated workers.
“We’re working to meet those needs for Oklahoma employers and we’re collaborating closely with our partners, particularly CareerTech,” she said.
Deborah Copeland, executive director of the Dale Rogers Training Center, pointed out the challenges faced by Oklahomans with a disability. While 16% of Oklahomans have a disability, they constitute 32% of those not participating in the labor force.
“Any discussion regarding labor participation really needs to include people with disabilities and programs to support them in employment,” Copeland said.
Among the areas she highlighted to help those citizens, Copeland pointed to vocational rehabilitation services for job training and placement services; transition school-to-work services for students graduating from special education; a wider range of transportation services; as well as accelerator/incubator programs for entrepreneurship and self-employment.
“We have growing workforce needs, which is good because our economy is growing, but to meet those needs we must have cooperation across a broad range of issues, like higher ed, CareerTech, and K-12,” Dugan said. “Education institutions need to continue to produce workers, and as communities and as a state we have to address other important issues like child care, housing and transportation.”
Other presenters during the study included CareerTech State Director Brent Haken and Trae Rahill, CEO of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.