Oklahoma Income Up in 2011

Income

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis data Oklahoma’s per capita income rose 6% in 2011 from 2010 levels. The per capita income in 2011 for Oklahoma was $32,277 in 2011. The national change was 4.3%. This is still lower that the high in 2008 of $37,694. Per capita personal income is total personal income divided by total midyear population.

The graph below shows the per capita income trends since 2000. The data shows that there was a stagnant period from 2001 to 2003 then a steady climb until dropping in 2009.

This is consistent with the national trends as shown in graph below.

The BLS shows that hourly earnings in 2012 have declined slightly since January. In January the average hourly wage in Oklahoma was $21.03 and in February moved to $20.75. This is $.01 less than February of 2011. The $.28 drop in hourly wages equates to about $10.00 per week in income.

Employment

This decline in hourly wage may be attributed in part to the increase in the number of employed people in Oklahoma. The total number employed climbed by 4,945 from January to February of 2012. The unemployment numbers from January to February dropped by .1% or 2,524 persons.

The number of people employed in Oklahoma has risen steadily since July of last year as the graph below shows.

At the same time the unemployed numbers have risen for most of 2011 and then declined this year as the graph below shows. The total unemployed in February was 106,569.

While this seems contradictory the population has also grown in Oklahoma by 31,324 or .8% in 2011 to 311,591,917.

Additionally, the labor force has grown by 21,011 since July of 2011 as the graph below displays.

March numbers will be posted when they become available.