OKLAHOMA CITY — OKC unemployment among lowest in nation
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City’s unemployment rate increased slightly to 5.6 percent in March, but the rate still was one of the lowest in the nation.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday that of the 49 metropolitan areas with a population of a million people or more, the rate in Oklahoma City and the 5.3 percent unemployment rate in the New Orleans area were lowest in the nation.
Unemployment rates in all of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas were higher last month compared to a year ago.
Oklahoma City’s rate was up by one-tenth of a percent compared to February, and was up 2.3 percent compared to March 2008. Tulsa’s unemployment rate last month was 6.3 percent, also up one-tenth of a percent from the previous month, and up 3 percent from a year ago.
Lawton’s unemployment rate last month was 5 percent, the same as the previous month, but up 1.5 percent compared to a year ago. Lawton’s employment picture has been helped by growth at Fort Sill.
Oklahoma’s overall unemployment rate for March was 6.1 percent, compared to 6 percent last month and 3.3 percent a year ago.
State officials have said Oklahoma’s economy has fared somewhat better than many other states because of its strong energy industry and because it was able to avoid housing market problems seen elsewhere.
Vince Orza, dean of the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University, said the state’s agricultural industry also has been strong, and Oklahoma doesn’t have as much heavy manufacturing as some other states that have been hit hard by reductions in consumer spending.
But the economic downturn in other areas of the nation will continue to affect the state, he said.
“The chances are we will see rising unemployment in Oklahoma in the months to come,” Orza said. “The same thing holds true for the housing market.
“It’s taking longer to sell and it takes longer to qualify for a mortgage, but we’re not likely to experience the declines of the big resort markets. We were not a speculative market.”
He also stressed the interconnected nature of U.S. and world markets as illustrated by economic fallout from the recent swine flu outbreak.
“A virus that started in Mexico, look at how that’s affected stocks in airlines, hotels, travel, pharmaceuticals,” he said.
Local News
4-30 Oklahoma City news in brief
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Edmond family takes to cycles
It’s got a daunting name — the Hotter’n Hell Hundred — but an Edmond bicycling family was up to the challenge.
The event, put on last month during just about the hottest time of year, starts in Wichita Falls and winds along a 100-mile route through Wichita County and Clay County in north Texas before ending back in Wichita Falls. The rolling course includes some long inclines accentuated by incessant wind. -
PSC Panel to produce report
A panel exploring the scope and scale of a new Public Safety Center in Edmond will be drafting a report it will review later this month.
Members of the Subcommittee for Review of Scope and Scale of the proposed Public Safety Center met Wednesday afternoon and discussed options for the project without knowing the actual price tag. -
Commission delays rezoning request
The Edmond Planning Commission delayed a rezoning request Tuesday after several residents voiced concerns about the flow of information.
The request would rezone a 20-acre parcel west of Santa Fe Avenue, north of the Homestead addition and Santa Fe Presbyterian Church from single family to allow offices and retail. -
Golf event to raise funds for lupus
The second annual “Friends of Lynn” Golf Tournament, in memory of Lynn Dunagan, will again swing into action at KickingBird Golf Club on Sept. 17.
All proceeds from the tournament will go directly to the Oklahoma chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America. -
Schools announce bond issue items
At Tuesday night’s Edmond School Board meeting, the 2010 Bond Planning Document was presented totaling $29.9 million, with the largest monied item, a competitive pool, coming in at $10 million.
Associate Superintendent of District Operations Bret Towne said $15 million in funds were freed up because an elementary school originally planned to be built in 2011 has been put on hold. -
Edmond Elks honor MIA soldier, daughter
The Edmond Elks honored the late U.S. Army Chief Warrent Officer Donald Lynn Wann at a memorial ceremony at the lodge on Tuesday.
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Panel explores funding options for Edmond Police station
A potential December 2011 sales tax election, the pursuit of federal dollars and other ideas were floated Wednesday by a panel exploring funding options for a Public Safety Center in Edmond.
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UCO names top freshmen
University of Central Oklahoma students Billy Elles of Edmond and Susan Phares of Fort Gibson recently received the male and female Freshman Scholastic Award for 2009-10 for their hard work and dedication to carry the heaviest workload during their first full year at Central.
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Setting goals pays off for Memorial students
Visiting all seven continents may not be on the bucket list for most people, but one Memorial High School senior has recently accomplished this goal he set for himself in middle school.
Dillon Duke and his sister, Lana, a freshman at Memorial, recently returned from South Africa where they were ambassadors with the People to People Student Ambassador program started in 1956 by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. -
Council to vote on water rate plan
City Council members will soon vote on water and wastewater rate increases needed to complete planned capital improvements in Edmond’s water system.
On Sept. 27, during the City Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting, members are expected to vote on a resolution to increase water and wastewater rates for five years, starting in November. - More Local News Headlines
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