Manufacturing pushes personal income up in Oklahoma
BY LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
9/26/12 at 4:10 AM
Spurred by manufacturing of big products, personal income in Oklahoma grew by 1.2 percent in the second quarter, the seventh-highest rate in the nation.
Oklahoma was one of only 10 states that saw an acceleration in personal income growth, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
"Not only does (Oklahoma) have a high growth rate this quarter, but in four of the last five quarters its growth rate has been above the national average. It's not a one-time thing," said David Lenze, an economist with the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Personal income, a measure of the income received by all residents from all sources, slowed in 39 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter. Nevada's number was unchanged.
Oklahoma's growth rate was up from 0.8 percent in the first quarter.
Personal income in Oklahoma expanded to $148.2 billion from $146.5 billion in the first quarter. In last year's second quarter, it was $142.1 billion.
Nationwide, personal income growth slowed to 1.0 percent in the second quarter, compared with 1.7 percent in the first quarter, according to the BEA's estimates.
Deidre Myers, director of policy, research and economic analysis at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, noted that strong growth in earnings, which are most commonly associated with wages, has contributed to Oklahoma's healthy payroll employment over the last 18 months.
"Since January of 2011, Oklahoma has added nearly 60,000 jobs to our economy, ranking the state third in overall payroll employment growth," Myers said.
"We have now recovered all of the payroll jobs that we lost during the recession. Oklahoma is one of four states that has done that," Myers added.
Growth in Oklahoma's earnings from durable goods manufacturing and wholesale trade was "very high relative to other states," as each of those sectors recorded the second-highest percentage growth in the nation, Lenze said.
Earnings in durable goods manufacturing contributed $154 million to total personal income in Oklahoma, followed by wholesale trade at $148 million and mining at $146 million.
Oklahoma's 3.58 percent earnings growth in wholesale trade was exceeded only by North Dakota's 4.81 percent growth. And Oklahoma's 2.45 percent earnings growth in durable goods was surpassed only by South Dakota at 2.53 percent.
"This is good news because you want your durable goods manufacturing to be strong and a bigger component of your manufacturing sector," Myers said.
Durable goods refers to equipment or other items that last a long time, such as aerospace products, oil-field equipment, automotive parts and electronics.
"Manufacturing growth isn't a surprise because Oklahoma has been in the top one or two in terms of manufacturing growth rate over the last 18 months," Myers said.
A lot of that is driven by the state's energy industry, Myers said, noting that companies in the state manufacture pumps, valves and compressors that are needed in places such as North Dakota, western Canada and other hotbeds of energy extraction.
Manufacturing of nondurable goods was a very different story, however, in Oklahoma as earnings fell 1.53 percent in the second quarter - the largest decline out of any state, Lenze said.
Nationwide, personal income growth for the quarter ranged from 2.1 percent in North Dakota to 0.4 percent in New Mexico.
Original Print Headline: Making a living
Laurie Winslow 918-581-8466
laurie.winslow@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Jason Bowles works on a Helmerich & Payne Flex 3 Rig last month in Medford. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
The Tulsa Port of Catoosa is a manufacturing hub. TOM GILBERT / Tulsa World
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