Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City publishes Oklahoma Economist analysing hiring slowdown amid low unemployment

The Oklahoma City Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released a new issue of the Oklahoma Economist, “Hiring in Oklahoma Slows, but Unemployment Remains Low,” examining the drivers of a historic slowdown in hiring across Oklahoma using data from the Kansas City Fed’s manufacturing and services surveys. Survey responses point to demand-related constraints, with firms citing growth expectations and economic uncertainty as the top restraints on hiring, while fewer businesses than in the past cite an inability to find workers. The analysis attributes more of the hiring slowdown to business cycle factors than to structural reductions in labor needs, and finds very limited use of artificial intelligence as a substitute for hiring, though some firms report using it to complement existing workers’ productivity. Despite a sharp decline in the hiring rate, most firms have not reduced headcount, employment growth has only slowed slightly, and Oklahoma’s job market is described as relatively steadier than the broader United States.