Okfuskee County Jobless Rate Remains Unchanged in March 2023 from Year Before
Okfuskee County Jobless Rate Remains Unchanged in March 2023 from Year Before
Okfuskee and Surrounding Counties Continue to Lead the State in High Unemployment Rates
By Alanna Bradley
ONL Reporter
The jobless rate for Okfuskee County in March 2023 was 3.9 percent, according to the latest report released by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. This number remained unchanged from March 2022 when it was also 3.9 percent. However, this is down from the prior two months of 2023 when the rate was 4.2 in February and January. A rate between 1.6 and 2.6 is considered the most desirable range to be in.
In the latest report, Okfuskee County ranked eighth highest again in the state for its jobless rate. In surrounding counties, Okfuskee County ranked fourth highest out of seven counties behind McIntosh County, Okmulgee, and Seminole counties for its jobless rate. McIntosh County was 5.0 percent and Okmulgee and Seminole Counties were 4.0 percent.
Other surrounding counties ranked as follows: Pottawattamie 3.3 percent, Lincoln 3.1 percent, Creek 3.2 percent, and Hughes 3.5 percent.
Counties in the eastern side of the state continue to record the highest unemployment rates in Oklahoma. Latimer County, which is two counties southeast of Okfuskee, reported the highest in the state at 5.1 percent. Noble and Pontotoc Counties are the only two counties, whose area resides completely on the eastern side of the state, that have an unemployment rate between 1.6 and 2.6 percent. All other counties in eastern Oklahoma range from 2.7 to 5.1 percent.
On the western side of the state, only Tillman County in southwest Oklahoma features an unemployment rate between 4.0 and 5.9 percent. Its unemployment rate for March 2023 was 4.1 percent.
Compare that to the eastern side of the state which features 10 counties, including Okfuskee, that have unemployment rates within that range. Those counties include Johnston (3.7), Seminole (4.0), Okmulgee (4.0), McIntosh (5.0), Pittsburg (4.1), Haskell (4.1), Latimer (5.1), Pushmataha (3.8), and Choctaw (4.3).
The southeast corridor, starting at Seminole, Okfuskee, and Okmulgee Counties and stretching south toward McCurtain (which borders Arkansas and Texas), features 10 counties that have the highest unemployment rates in the state. Johnston County, south of Seminole, is included in that group.
By the Numbers:
Okfuskee County
March 2023: 3.9 percent
February 2023: 4.2 percent
January 2023: 4.2 percent
March 2022: 3.9 percent
Rank: 69
Okmulgee County
March 2023: 4.0 percent
February 2023: 4.3 percent
January 2023: 4.4 percent
March 2022: 4.0 percent
Rank: 70
Creek County
March 2023: 3.2 percent
February 2023: 3.4 percent
January 2023: 3.5 percent
March 2022: 3.3 percent
Rank: 45
Lincoln County
March 2023: 3.1 percent
February 2023: 3.2 percent
January 2023: 3.3 percent
March 2022: 2.7 percent
Rank: 43
Pottawattamie County
March 2023: 3.3 percent
February 2023: 3.5 percent
January 2023: 3.6 percent
March 2022: 3.2 percent
Rank: 52
Seminole County
March 2023: 4.0 percent
February 2023: 4.3 percent
January 2023: 4.4 percent
March 2022: 3.7 percent
Rank: 70
Hughes County
March 2023: 3.5 percent
February 2023: 3.7 percent
January 2023: 3.8 percent
March 2022: 4.1 percent
Rank: 62
McIntosh County
March 2023: 5.0 percent
February 2023: 5.2 percent
January 2023: 5.3 percent
March 2022: 4.7 percent
Rank: 76
Pittsburg County
March 2023: 4.1 percent
February 2023: 4.3 percent
January 2023: 4.3 percent
March 2022: 4.1 percent
Rank: 72
According to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission report, across the state in March, Latimer County posted Oklahoma’s highest county unemployment rate of 5.1 percent. McIntosh County reported the second-highest rate for the month, followed by Tillman County. Cimarron County reported the lowest county unemployment rate of 1.6 percent in March. Unemployment rates in March were higher than a year earlier in 45 counties, lower in 17 counties and unchanged in 15 counties.
