1.1
1
0.9
0.87
0.8
0.7
0.63
0.6
0.5
US Oil and Natural Gas Employment
Oklahoma Mining Employment Growth
Figure 3. Oklahoma and US Energy Sector Employment (2019Q1=1) (Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics) (History through 2024Q2)
State Economic Outlook
Both national and state total nonfarm wage and salary employment now exceed their pre- pandemic peaks, with the nation’s employment having grown more (Figure 4). Because US employment initially declined more during the onset of the pandemic, its initial rebound in 2020 was much stronger than Oklahoma’s , with US employment continuing to grow faster in 2021. Oklahoma’s stronger growth since the end of 2022 has put it near the nation relative to their respective pre-pandemic levels. Corresponding to the slowing of overall economic growth, employment growth is forecast to flatten out in both the nation and state for the remainder of 2024. Oklahoma’s total nonfarm wage and salary employment growth from June 2023-2024 ranked eighteenth in the nation (not shown). The top five fastest-growing states in order of faster growth were South Carolina, Missouri, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana. The slowest five growing states in order of slowest growth were Tennessee, Oregon, Maryland, Hawaii, and Illinois. Among Oklahoma’s other neighbors, Arkansas (11 th ) and Texas (12 th ) grew faster, while New Mexico (23 rd ) and Colorado grew slower (24 th ) than Oklahoma.
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