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Unlocking Higher Wages in Oklahoma City · The 405 Payroll

• 0:13
  Welcome to The 405 Payroll, your lunch break guide to a bigger paycheck and an
• 0:18
  easier month here in Oklahoma City.
• 0:21
  I'm Claire Brooks, and today we're starting with two unemployment numbers that seem
• 0:25
  to disagree.
• 0:26
  And I'm Miles.
• 0:27
  The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission says the statewide unemployment rate was
• 0:32
  4.3% in August 2026.
• 0:35
  That's up nine tenths of a point from a year ago, and a little above the national
• 0:39
  rate of 4.1%.
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  But the Bureau of Labor Statistics has a preliminary number for the Oklahoma City
• 0:46
  metro, and it's lower, 3.9%.
• 0:49
  So the place you actually live and work is doing better than the state overall.
• 0:54
  Here's what changed my read.
• 0:55
  Cortney Cowley, an assistant vice president at the Kansas City Federal Reserve who
• 0:59
  manages the Oklahoma City branch, says joblessness ticked up because more people are
• 1:04
  entering the labor force.
• 1:05
  More people looking for work, not a wave of closed doors.
• 1:09
  And she makes a second point that matters more to your paycheck.
• 1:13
  The Federal Reserve's Beige Book confirms an ongoing shortage of skilled workers
• 1:17
  across Oklahoma.
• 1:19
  So what does a shortage do for someone who's already clocking in every day?
• 1:24
  It flips the leverage.
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  When an employer can't find someone who can run a machine or handle a busy hospital
• 1:30
  front desk, they compete, and they pay wage premiums for people with practical
• 1:34
  skills.
• 1:35
  That's a seat at the table you can earn.
• 1:37
  Now the part that shows up on the first of the month.
• 1:39
  OKC median rents are hovering between $950 and $1,200.
• 1:45
  And average gas in Oklahoma City hit $3.96 a gallon on October 12th,
• 1:50
  up about 6.2 cents in a single week.
• 1:54
  So if you're making $12 to $15 an hour, the gap between income and costs is
• 1:59
  widening, and that's the math talking, not your effort.
• 2:03
  Nobody's behind here.
• 2:05
  Prices just climbed on people who were already hustling.
• 2:08
  Quick math, my own arithmetic, not a source's.
• 2:11
  $13 an hour at 40 hours a week is about $2,250 a month before taxes.
• 2:17
  $22 an hour is about $3,800.
• 2:22
  Against a $1,100 rent, that's nearly half of your gross in one case and under a
• 2:28
  third in the other.
• 2:30
  Same person, same effort, a different rung.
• 2:33
  That's why we're aiming at the $22 to $28 range today.
• 2:37
  So here's the plan: who's hiring, the training that gets you there,
• 2:42
  extra cash this week, and the help that makes a raise last.
• 2:46
  Lunch break well spent.