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Oklahoma’s Low-Hire Job Market and How to Break In · The 405 Payroll

• 0:13
  If you have spent the last few weeks throwing your resume into online job boards and
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  hearing absolutely nothing back, you are not crazy.
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  It turns out the job market in Oklahoma is playing a very specific,
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  almost invisible trick on us right now.
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  Yeah, it feels like sending your resume into a literal black hole,
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  right?
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  You press submit, you wait, and er...
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  radio silence.
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  But wait, why is that happening if everyone keeps saying unemployment is still super
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  low?
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  That is the exact mystery.
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  Cortney Cowley and Chase Farha over at the Kansas City Fed just put out this
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  incredible economic study on Oklahoma.
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  They found that our state unemployment rate is sitting at a really low 3.6 percent,
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  but at the same time, the monthly hires rate in Oklahoma fell sharply to 3.1
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  percent.
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  Hold on.
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  Say those numbers again?
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  Unemployment is low at 3.6 percent, but hiring dropped to 3.1 percent?
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  How do those two things live in the same universe?
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  Economists are calling it a low hire, low fire market.
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  The survey shows about 71 percent of local businesses did not reduce their overall
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  headcount recently.
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  But instead of hiring new people or filling open seats, 27 percent of firms are just
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  cutting back employee hours or quietly closing job postings without backfilling
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  them.
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  Ah, okay, let me see if I got this right.
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  Companies are holding onto the staff they already have because they are worried
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  about economic uncertainty, but they are absolutely freezing new openings.
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  So nobody is getting fired, but nobody is getting hired either.
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  Spot on.
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  It creates reduced labor churn.
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  And here is another plot twist from that Kansas City Fed data,
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  everyone assumes artificial intelligence is swallowing all the jobs,
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  right?
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  Oh, totally.
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  You hear people talk like algorithms took over every corporate office overnight.
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  Well, in Oklahoma, only 5 percent of employers surveyed reported using AI as a
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  direct substitute for hiring human workers.
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  Meanwhile, 38 percent said they use AI as a tool to boost the productivity of the
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  staff they already have.
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  So robots are not replacing you, but employers do want people who know how to use
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  those efficiency tools.
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  Man, that is such a huge relief to hear, but it still leaves job seekers in a tough
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  spot.
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  If online portals are frozen over, how on earth do you actually get a job right now?
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  You completely bypass the online algorithm trap.
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  You have to go where the active, direct hire recruiters are standing in person.
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  Events hosted by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission or regional hiring
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  fairs like Oklahoma Works.
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  Like physical walk in events?
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  People still do those?
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  Yes, absolutely.
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  Right now in the metro area, recruiters at those live events are hiring on the spot
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  for entry level warehouse operations, logistics, and assembly roles paying anywhere
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  from 17 dollars and 50 cents to 19 dollars and 25 cents an hour.
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  You know, back when I was radio hosting, I remember talking to so many listeners who
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  were just mentally exhausted from screaming into the digital void.
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  Sending out fifty resumes a week without a single human response just destroys your
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  spirit.
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  But walking into a room, shaking a recruiter hand, and pitching your work ethic face
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  to face?
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  That changes your whole mindset instantly.
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  It really does.
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  It puts you back in control instead of waiting on an automated email system.
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  Okay, so if someone is currently making around 17 or 18 bucks an hour and wants to
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  bump that up to say, 22 to 25 dollars an hour, what is the fastest track that does
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  not require going into mountain high student debt?
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  You look at targeted short term credentials.
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  Metro Tech at 1900 Springlake Drive runs the EMPOWER program,
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  and there are tuition grants through the Central Oklahoma Workforce Innovation
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  Board.
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  We are talking 6 to 12 week certificate tracks.
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  Wait, 6 to 12 weeks?
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  What kind of jobs are we talking about in that timeframe?
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  Commercial driver licenses, clinical medical assistants, precision manufacturing
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  assembly.
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  Roles that move your floor straight up to 25 dollars an hour because local employers
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  are actively looking for those specific technical skillsets.
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  That is huge.
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  But er, what about the immediate gap?
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  Like, say you need an extra 200 bucks this weekend just to cover an unexpected
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  expense while you are retraining or job hunting?
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  Right, cash flow gaps are real.
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  Look at short term, realistic local levers.
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  Taking on a weekend fulfillment shift, running peer to peer delivery apps during
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  peak dinner hours, or doing a fast purge of unused household goods on local
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  marketplaces.
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  You can pull in 150 to 250 dollars in quick cash to keep your head above water.
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  Okay, so you get the quick cash, you get the short term certificate,
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  you bump your pay.
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  But how do you stop that extra income from just getting wiped out by electricity
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  bills or higher rent?
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  That is where utility anchors come in.
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  Organizations like the Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City offer LIHEAP utility
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  assistance and free financial coaching.
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  If you lock down energy assistance while your income is lower,
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  any new raise you get actually stays in your bank account as real savings instead of
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  disappearing into electric bill spikes.
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  Man, that makes so much sense.
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  Protect your household baseline while building your earning power.
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  Exactly.
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  So here is your daily action step before 5 PM today.
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  Do not submit another random online application into the void.
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  Instead, look up the Metro Tech EMPOWER program or register online for an upcoming
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  OESC direct hiring event.
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  Take one concrete action that puts you face to face with real opportunity.
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  Stop fighting the algorithms, go meet the actual human beings hiring right now.
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  Love it.
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  Alright, good chatting, talk soon!