The unemployment rate in Oklahoma remains lower than the national rate, and the number of Oklahomans who are out of work has averaged less than 1,300 over the past four and a half months.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, first-time claims for unemployment benefits in Oklahoma totaled 953 on Nov. 30, which was 446 fewer than the 1,399 claims filed the week of Nov. 23.
Between the weeks ending Aug. 3 through Nov. 30, 2024, filings of initial unemployment claims in Oklahoma averaged 1,281 per week, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission records reflect. During the very same 18-week period six years earlier, in 2019, first-time filings of unemployment claims in Oklahoma averaged 1,842 per week, OESC records show.
The U.S. unemployment rate in November was pegged at 4.2%, a mild increase from 4.1% in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. In comparison, the jobless rate in Oklahoma was calculated at 3.3% on Oct. 31 (the latest figures available), a slight decline from 3.4% on Sept. 30.
U.S. employers added 227,000 jobs last month as the business sector rebounded from Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Southeast and Boeing settled a worker strike. Employment growth was attributed to gains in the healthcare, leisure, and hospitality sectors and in transportation equipment manufacturing.
Nevertheless, the national unemployment rate ticked up, from 4.1% to 4.2%, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday. The retail sector, for example, shed 28,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate is a measure of people who don’t have jobs and are looking for work. During the growing economy in recent years, the “prime age” labor force participation rate, people ages 25-54 working or seeking jobs, rose to its highest level since the early 2000s.
The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates in September for the first time in four years – by half a point, to a range of 4.75% to 5% – citing progress on its dual goals of lowering inflation to restore price stability and achieving maximum employment. Recent comments by members of the Fed’s Board of Governors indicate they remain cautious about whether to reduce the rate again at their Dec. 18 meeting.