Over the past year, Oklahoma saw one of biggest unemployment increases of any state, reports The Oklahoman.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Oklahoma had the second-highest unemployment rate increase for the 12 months ending in August. The state’s unemployment rate rose 0.8 percent. The statewide average now sits at 5.1 percent.
While unemployment has been growing in Oklahoma over the last year, the pace of the job loss has been slowing since March. Many of the job losses came in the energy sector.
Lynn Gray, an economist for the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, said, “It is possible that we have found a bottom in employment for [the energy] sector if oil prices maintain at least their recent price range.” Oklahoma’s jobless increase numbers were tied with Pennsylvania’s.