TULSA, Okla. — The health of Oklahoma's workforce and economy is seeing improvement.
That is according to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
"Oklahoma's economy is strong," Trae Rahill, CEO of the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, said.
According to Rahill, our state has more people in the labor force than ever before.
"In the last 12 months, the number of people working in Oklahoma has increased by 50,000," Rahill said.
2 News spoke with Rahill in February about unemployment:
One big driver of the job growth in Oklahoma, Rahill said, is construction.
"One indicator of a state's economy or even local economies showing signs of growth, construction usually is always a part of that," Rahill said.
As economic development deals are completed and businesses move to Oklahoma, Rahill said construction work will spike.
But that is not all. It is also when families move to our state.
"Oklahoma's not really the best-kept secret anymore, so a lot of people are moving here, and that usually means construction," Rahill said.
While OESC works to provide services to Oklahomans, employers, and other workforce organizations, Rahill said the commission partners with other government entities to make sure funding is used in the best way possible.
"My philosophy and what we talk about inside the agency is people pay taxes, businesses pay taxes," Rahill said. "These government institutions should often be asking themselves, 'What are they getting for their money?'"
OESC partners with many public institutions, which include Career Tech and the Department of Rehabilitation Services.
- Previous coverage >>> OESC Chief Executive talks Oklahoma's economy
However, there are other kinds of partnerships OESC does. It also teams up with private entities to bring services right to Oklahomans.
OESC is teaming up with Tulsa Community College to host industry-specific hiring events.
"That is exciting because people can come to that event as an employer and they're already in a room with people who have chosen to try and work in that industry," Rahill said. "They're not trying to interest someone in a manufacturing job that really would rather be in banking."
The manufacturing-specific event is on April 25 at the Northeast Campus at 3727 E. Apache St.
It starts at 11 a.m. and goes until 2 p.m. for the public and TCC students.
It opens at 10:30 a.m. for our nation's Veterans.
"We want employers to learn about the benefits of working with Veterans, and sometimes that needs to be facilitated," Rahill said.
OESC is also continuing work to improve the workforce website to streamline services.
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