Metro jobless rate jumps in June
Published: 8/4/2011 4:07 AM
Metro Tulsa's unemployment rate climbed to 6.6 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported Wednesday.
June's number rose from 6.0 percent in May. The jobless rate was 5.6 percent in April and 6.6 in March.
In June 2010, the Tulsa metro had an unemployment rate of 8.0 percent.
"While the Tulsa MSA number of unemployed and the unemployment rate typically do increase in June of each year, this year's increase is above that which we would normally expect to see - indicating weakness in the labor market," said Lynn Gray, chief economist for the OESC, in emailed comments.
A smaller survey taken among households shows a loss of nearly 800 in total employment, which includes self-employed and farm jobs, as opposed to its normal expansion in June.
"In fact, this month is the weakest June over-the-month result we have seen back to 1990," Gray said.
Two-thirds of the increase in the unemployed people in Tulsa can be attributed to losses in government jobs, said Steve Agee, professor of economics at Oklahoma City University and chairman of the Oklahoma City branch board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Over the month, the metro area posted a loss of 2,000 government jobs, including 1,400 state and 600 local government jobs, according to the OESC.
Likewise, the number of unemployed people increased by 2,982, meaning that 67 percent of those newly unemployed workers were in government positions, Agee said.
"I've been seeing and hearing anecdotally about cuts in state government and municipal government. ... We're seeing reductions all across the nation, but in Oklahoma, it's not surprising because of the budget constraints we have," he added.
A larger survey taken among business establishments was quite a bit better, Gray said. It showed a gain of 600 nonfarm jobs over the month.
"It is the first positive over-the-month result for June that we have seen in four years (last positive was 2007 when we gained 200 jobs) and the best since 2006 when we gained 1,200," Gray said.
He pointed to a continuing trend of strong growth for both the state and Tulsa in the goods-producing industries, which includes manufacturing, construction and, to a lesser extent, mining and logging.
"Going forward these areas could face pressure if in fact the national economy continues to slow as the recent GDP numbers suggest," Gray said, referring the gross domestic product.
The state's other two metros - Oklahoma City and Lawton - also recorded rises in their jobless rates for the month. But even with its 5.7 percent rate, up from 4.9 percent in May, the Oklahoma City area's number was the lowest among the nation's 49 metros with populations of 1 million or more, according to the BLS.
Just like Tulsa, Oklahoma City's loss of government jobs over the month largely contributed to its increase in the number of unemployed, Agee noted. Oklahoma City lost 3,800 government jobs in June, while its number of unemployed increased by 4,715.
Nationwide, jobless rates were lower than a year earlier in 224 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 127 areas and unchanged in 21 areas.
Twelve areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15 percent, while nine areas had rates of less than 5 percent, according to the BLS.
El Centro, Calif., had the highest rate at 28.5 percent, while Bismarck, N.D., posted the lowest rate at 3.6 percent, according to the BLS.
Job gains and losses among Tulsa metro's 11 super sectors over the month in June, based on nonseasonally adjusted data from the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission:
Mining and logging, up 100 jobs
Construction, no change
Manufacturing, up 700 jobs
Trade, transportation and utilities, up 400 jobs
Information, unchanged
Financial activities, unchanged
Professional and business services, up 200 jobs
Educational and health services, down 100 jobs
Leisure and hospitality, up 1,000 jobs
Other services, up 300 jobs
Government, down 2,000 jobs
Performance of Tulsa metro's super sector over the year:
Mining and logging, up 200 jobs
Construction, up 1,100 jobs
Manufacturing, up 5,400 jobs
Trade, transportation and utilities, down 100 jobs
Information, down 400 jobs
Financial activities, down 100 jobs
Professional and business services, up 1,000 jobs
Educational and health services, up 1,500 jobs
Leisure and hospitality, up 1,200 jobs
Other services, down 600 jobs
Government, down 3,900 jobs
source : http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=48&articleid=20110804_46_E1_MetroT722561
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