Jobless Rate Increases in Tulsa

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma had increased a bit, jumping to a rate of 5.7 percent during the month of June. This was a bit of an increase from the previous month when the unemployment rate was at 5.3 percent during the month of May. Even before May, the unemployment rate was at 4.9 percent during the month of April. Even though the unemployment has increased over the span of the past two months, it is still considerably lower than it was during the month of June in the previous year of 2011, back when the unemployment rate was at a whopping 7.1 percent. Although there was an increase in the number of unemployed individuals over the past few months, economists believe that the overall trend is still a positive one and that there is truly no serious cause for concern.

The founder of RegionTrack Incorporation, Mark Snead, has said, “Many more people were employed, and many more people entered the labor force looking for jobs.” The RegionTrack Incorporation provides forecasting for the economy, along with analysis. Snead believes that the overall picture is actually quite steady and feels that there is nothing to worry about. He feels as though the current trends are strong and that the employment picture will continue to get better over time. In fact, a recent household survey even showed that the employment for the metropolitan area of Tulsa increased by at least 4,800 jobs during the month of June.

The primary economic researcher at the Tulsa Metro Chamber, Bob Ball, recently made note of the job force in the Tulsa area, speaking of how the job force has actually grown by over 7,000 individuals, with more people who are now employed or looking for employment, specifically those who were not looking before. With more people looking for jobs, it is believed that more people feel optimistic about the possibility of finding the employment they are seeking. This basically shows that optimism is in the air in the Tulsa area. Ball has said, “Things are going on here, which doesn’t happen in the private sector unless there is an expectation of good things to come.” In the meantime, Snead has said that job growth has happened in the right areas, which includes the manufacturing sector, so this was good news despite the fact that the jobless rate did increase over the past few months. Even more importantly, the oil and sector continues to thrive for the city.