Counties with the highest unemployment in Oklahoma

The first jobs report fully under the new Trump administration showed a softening job market, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.1% in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released March 7.

Job growth increased but fell below expectations, one of several possible fissures appearing in the once rock-solid labor market. Businesses are pulling back on hiring as the economic forecast and policy outlook grow murkier due to volatile trade policies and large cuts to the federal workforce.

Federal government employment fell by 10,000 in February, pushing up total cuts to the federal workforce. In the first two months of 2025, 62,530 federal workers were let go. However, the most recent cuts, including the Department of Education's workforce getting slashed by nearly half, have not yet appeared in official jobs data. Retail employment also fell by 6,000.

The broader unemployment index, known as the U-6, which also includes laborers working part-time because they can't find full-time work, and those who want to work but have given up searching, rose to 8%, its highest since October 2021.

To get a glimpse of regional variations in employment, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Oklahoma, using BLS data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in January 2025, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.

Key takeaways: Jobs report shows softening labor market

February's job growth of 151,000 fell below economists' expected gains of 160,000, showing the labor market is cooling faster than predicted. Experts say many companies weighing policy changes and economic uncertainty are deciding it's safer to hold off on hiring decisions for now.

"If you were a company and you were saying, 'I'm looking to expand, or I'm looking to hire,' you would have investors in those companies saying, 'Are you crazy?'" Ron Hetrick, senior labor economist at Lightcast, told Marketplace.

Consumer spending fell in January for the first time in two years, which may have led to layoffs or hiring slowdowns, Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, told NBC News.

The big story: From bold promises to frozen labor market

After an initial market pop following Trump's electoral win, indexes have slumped to below when he took office, and uncertainty about the future of the markets is a common theme. Are threatened tariffs in place, delayed, reversed, or ramped up? Has that federal worker been fired or given their job back? Are those federal dollars slashed or reinstated? It's a question mark that changes daily.

Research shows that uncertainty invites lower investment, slows employment, and increases financial market volatility. The word "uncertain" showed up 47 times in the March edition of the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve's snapshot of reports from across the nation, compared to 17 times in the previous report from January.

The new administration's blitz of executive orders and trade policy waffling have cast a dense fog over the short-term economic outlook. One thing that is known? Uncertainty isn't good for business planning, job creation, or hiring.

In a March 12 interview with Semafor, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon noted that average consumers likely don't change "what they're going to do because they read about tariffs," but "companies might."

"Uncertainty is not a good thing," Dimon added.

To get a better idea of your community's current economy, read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Oklahoma.

47. Bryan County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,671 people (776 unemployed)

47. Wagoner County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 45,525 people (1,480 unemployed)

47. Tulsa County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 352,390 people (11,760 unemployed)

47. Blaine County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.3%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,468 people (114 unemployed)

42. Garfield County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 28,284 people (967 unemployed)

42. Oklahoma County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 421,889 people (14,275 unemployed)

42. Payne County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 40,418 people (1,361 unemployed)

42. Logan County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 26,267 people (885 unemployed)

42. Caddo County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,713 people (396 unemployed)

39. Kiowa County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 3,687 people (130 unemployed)

39. Mayes County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,568 people (693 unemployed)

39. Choctaw County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1-month change: 0.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,519 people (265 unemployed)

35. Lincoln County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,205 people (596 unemployed)

35. Creek County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 34,315 people (1,268 unemployed)

35. Ottawa County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,295 people (536 unemployed)

35. Cherokee County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 22,635 people (835 unemployed)

27. Washington County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,459 people (889 unemployed)

27. Marshall County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,612 people (286 unemployed)

27. Atoka County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,806 people (220 unemployed)

27. Kay County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,123 people (729 unemployed)

27. Craig County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,775 people (218 unemployed)

27. Pottawatomie County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: 0.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 33,092 people (1,256 unemployed)

27. Pawnee County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,256 people (278 unemployed)

27. Comanche County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 49,863 people (1,913 unemployed)

25. Garvin County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: +1.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,434 people (447 unemployed)

25. Stephens County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,451 people (758 unemployed)

20. Sequoyah County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,878 people (671 unemployed)

20. Coal County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,311 people (93 unemployed)

20. Greer County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,924 people (76 unemployed)

20. Murray County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,598 people (222 unemployed)

20. Osage County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,904 people (840 unemployed)

18. Johnston County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,315 people (176 unemployed)

18. Delaware County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,332 people (752 unemployed)

15. Carter County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 22,424 people (941 unemployed)

15. Latimer County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: -0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -1.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,156 people (173 unemployed)

15. Le Flore County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,392 people (814 unemployed)

13. McCurtain County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 14,662 people (625 unemployed)

13. Okmulgee County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: +0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,931 people (690 unemployed)

11. Okfuskee County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,415 people (195 unemployed)

11. Tillman County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,774 people (123 unemployed)

10. Haskell County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1-month change: -0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,761 people (214 unemployed)

8. Pittsburg County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.6 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,191 people (785 unemployed)

8. Adair County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,061 people (368 unemployed)

7. Jefferson County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,191 people (104 unemployed)

5. Muskogee County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 25,311 people (1,231 unemployed)

5. Seminole County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1-month change: +0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,302 people (456 unemployed)

3. Hughes County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +1.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,227 people (219 unemployed)

3. McIntosh County (tie)

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.2%
--- 1-month change: +0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: -0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,493 people (391 unemployed)

2. Love County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1-month change: +2.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +2.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,108 people (229 unemployed)

1. Pushmataha County

- January unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: +0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: +0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,526 people (257 unemployed)

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Ben Popken, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.