OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Slumping oil and natural gas prices are dragging down overall collections to the state treasury, Oklahoma Treasurer Randy McDaniel reported Thursday.
Gross receipts to the treasury in October were down about $47 million, or 4.1%, compared to October of last year, while individual income tax collections dropped by more than 7%, McDaniel reported.
“When the energy industry is down in Oklahoma, it reduces economic activity across the state, including earned income and consumer spending,” McDaniel said in a statement.
Overall gross receipts for the last 12 months totaled $13.2 billion, down by about $500 million compared to collections from the previous 12 months. The production tax on oil and natural gas has been down each month for more than a year.
Among the good news in the treasurer’s report is that Oklahoma’s unemployment rate was 5.3% in September, down from 5.7% in August and well below the national unemployment rate in September of 7.9%.