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July 2, 2009

County unemployment rises again

Sommer Woodward

Unemployment numbers issued by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) showed unemployment numbers increased from last month.

Mayes County’s unemployment is listed at 9.1 percent for May 2009. Unemployment has risen 5.2 percent over the last year, since the number of unemployed workers in May 2008 was listed at 3.9 percent. The figure issued for unemployment in April was 8.5 percent, which shows May’s unemployment numbers increased by

.6 percent.

The OESC lists Mayes County’s labor force at 19,030. The number of employed in May 2009 is 17,290, and the number of unemployed workers are 1,740.

Mayes County is tenth in the state for the number of unemployed workers in the county in relation to the labor force. The county with the highest unemployment rate is Hughes County at 11.7 percent. Hughes County is located west of McAlester.

Nearby counties showed an increase in their unemployment numbers over last month. Rogers County had an increase of .5 percent at 6.7 percent. Wagoner County saw a .2 percent increase at 6.4 percent. Delaware County had a .1 percent increase at 6.3 percent. Tulsa County saw a .5 percent increase at 6.3 percent.

The OESC listed more detailed information for Tulsa County. The total private employment in Tulsa County in May was 374,300. From May 2008 to May 2009, employment decreased by 9,900, which was a 2.6 percent decrease. Information employment saw the largest decrease of 10 percent over last year. Manufacturing was second, at 8.6 percent. Government employment, however, increased from May 2008 to May 2009 by 1,900, which was a

3.5 percent increase. Employment by federal employees decreased by 100, but state and local government jobs increased by 1,000 positions each in Tulsa County. State government employment increased by 13.5 percent, while local government employment increased with 2.4 percent. The only other increases in employment in Tulsa County were 1.3 percent for leisure and hospitality and 2.7

percent for employment in the other services

category.

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