Executive Summary - Workforce Overview In this report, areas of strength and focus are identified as they pertain to workforce development in the state of Oklahoma. These are summarized below as areas of progress, continued focus and improvement. Areas of progress in Oklahoma: Population growth: In 2023, Oklahoma experienced its highest population gain in a single year (0.85%) in more than a decade, with much of the growth attributed to domestic in-migration from other states (p. 5). Labor force participation rate: With a continued focus on re-engaging individuals back into the workforce, Oklahoma’s labor force participation rate (62.5% in Q3 of 2023) is now higher than pre-pandemic levels and nearly meets the national rate (62.7%) (p. 6). Veteran workforce participation: Veterans make up 8.7% of adults in Oklahoma and veterans between the ages of 18-64 have an estimated labor force participation rate of 73.5%. In addition, veterans have higher median household incomes and 78.1% own their home. Veterans also experience lower poverty rates (7.6%) compared to the state average (15.7%) (p. 17). Post-secondary education: High school graduation rates increased by 1.2% between 2017 and 2022, while those with no diploma (highest educational attainment varying from ninth to 12th grade) decreased by 10.1%. Post-secondary education increased for all levels including associate’s (7.2%), bachelor’s (13.3%) and graduate or professional degrees (18%) (p. 36). Areas needing continued focus in Oklahoma: Accessibility to affordable childcare: Access to childcare continues to be a popular topic with state officials and across communities. While Oklahoma lost approximately 492 childcare facilities between 2017 and 2021, a total of 283 facilities have since been added and capacity has increased by 10,826. Even with these additions, access to affordable childcare continues to be a challenge and should be an area of ongoing focus for legislators, employers and communities (p. 9-10). Incarceration rates: In 2017 and 2018, Oklahoma ranked No. 2 in the nation for total incarcerations and No. 1 for female incarceration. In 2022, Oklahoma dropped to No. 4 in both categories. Several state initiatives have worked to make progress in this area (SQ 780 and 781, HB 3316) and several are still pending (SB 1077 and HB 1792) (p. 15-17). Areas needing improvement in Oklahoma: Poverty: 15.7% of individuals in Oklahoma have an income below the poverty level compared to the national rate of 11.5%. Families with a female householder and no spouse experienced the largest rate of poverty for families at 29.1%. Children under the age of five experience the highest levels of poverty by age category (21.6%) and Black or African American had the highest rate of poverty by race (25.3%) (p. 10-11). Individuals with disabilities: Out of all working-age Oklahomans, 15.8% report having a disability and have an employment rate of 43.9% compared to the national average of 45%. Individuals with a disability pursue a bachelor's degree or higher at a rate of half (15.4%) of what those without a disability do (30.6%) (p. 12-13). Affordable housing: In 2022, 24% of all renters in the state paid rent more than half their income (p. 11). College readiness: For the 2022 graduating class, only 10% of students met the four ACT college readiness benchmarks and only 6% were ready to pursue STEM majors (p. 38).
WorkTrends 2024
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