The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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February 2, 2010

Unemployment rate in Enid falls

By Joe Malan, Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle

ENID — Enid’s unemployment rate improved once again in December.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, Enid’s unemployment rate improved to 4.6 percent in December from 4.8 percent in November.

Similarly, the unemployment rate in Garfield County decreased to 4.7 percent in December from 5.0 percent in November.

Both December marks are preliminary numbers and not seasonally adjusted.

They remain below Oklahoma’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.5 percent.

“It’s good we’re trending down on unemployment,” said Greater Enid Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jon Blankenship.

The number of unemployed people in the city decreased to 1,171, down from 1,235 in November.

The number of employed people in the city, however, lowered to 24,173 in December from 24,271 in November.

According to BLS data, the labor force in Enid also went down.

There were 25,344 people in the labor force in Enid in December, down from 25,506 in November. It’s a decrease of 162 people.

Reacting to the decrease in labor force, Blankenship said he didn’t know of any large layoffs in Enid or Garfield County over the last several months.

“There were no major changes or announcements (of layoffs) during this last 30-day period,” he said.

Brent Kisling, executive director of Enid Regional Development Alliance, also said he hadn’t heard of any massive layoffs, nor major changes to the work force.

“Several (businesses) have been adding employees, in fact,” Kisling said.

Kisling said he believes the local economy is continuing to improve. Enid’s population, he said, had its largest growth in 2009 than any previous year in the past decade. Though the population only rose by 500 last year, he said it is a good sign for the city.

Now, he said, Enid needs to create more jobs for its labor force, which has largely grown over the last several years, despite the slight drop-off at the end of this past year.

“It’s so important these companies continue to invest in Enid and have jobs for these folks,” Kisling said.

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