While most states in a nine-state index are seeing economic growth, Oklahoma continues a 10-month slide.
Oklahoma is dead last in the latest edition of the Mid-America Business Conditions Index with a score of 39.4 on the 0–100 scale where numbers above 50 indicate growth.
Oklahoma also had the biggest drop from January to February, falling from 48.3. Overall, the Mid-America region, which spans Texas to Minnesota, showed economic growth, scoring 50.5.
"It’s still economically soft for the nine-state region, but again, it’s looking better," said Creighton University Ernie Goss, who produces the index. "We’re seeing job additions, at least for the broader economy. Manufacturing still remains an issue in terms of jobs."
Oklahoma has lost nearly 9,000 manufacturing jobs — 6.4 percent of the state's total — over the past 12 months.
"And that’s very significant compared to the rest of the region and the rest of the nation," Goss said. "Overall, the region’s lost about 20,000 jobs, so most of those jobs are centered in Oklahoma and North Dakota, where you have a big energy presence."
For Oklahoma, $100 a barrel oil would be ideal to turn the situation around, but even $60 or $70 a barrel would help.
"But it doesn’t look like we’re going to see that right now," Goss said. "We’re talking about oil now being stored in rail cars, so this is a huge oversupply of oil and fuel, and, of course, on top of that you’ve got weak demand."
Besides Oklahoma, the index covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
