Unemployment rate ticks up in 72 Oklahoma counties

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – State labor officials say unemployment rates increased last month in 72 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties.

The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission on Wednesday released county and metropolitan area unemployment information.

The report shows that Latimer County in southeast Oklahoma had the highest county unemployment rate last month at 8.5 percent. McCurtain County had the second highest rate of 7.8 percent, while McIntosh County was third at 7.5 percent.

The lowest unemployment rate was in Beckham County at 2.7 percent. The counties with the lowest unemployment rates are those in northwest Oklahoma, where the oil and gas industry is booming.

The statewide unemployment rate in June was 4.5 percent, well below the national average of 6.1 percent.