Fed Official Tells Lawton: Oklahoma Unemployment Now Above National Average

A Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City official visited Lawton this week with news that hits close to home: Oklahoma’s unemployment rate has climbed above the national average. Cortney Cowley, the Kansas City Fed’s Oklahoma City Branch executive, spoke at a chamber luncheon and laid out an economy that’s resilient on the surface but uneven underneath. National GDP grew just 2% in the second quarter of 2026, and consumer spending is being driven mainly by the top 10% of earners.

For Oklahoma, the jobs lost in 2025 have been recovered, but hiring has slowed dramatically, and the state’s unemployment rate now sits above the national average. New work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid are pushing more Oklahomans into the workforce at a time when openings are harder to find. On the inflation front, Cowley said prices are expected to stay elevated with rising energy prices and tariffs keeping pressure on household budgets. That’s a reality that Fort Sill families, Comanche Nation community members, and everyone making a grocery run in Lawton knows all too well.

So what do you do with all this? Watch your spending, keep an eye on local job postings, and remember that the broader economic picture doesn’t always reflect what’s happening on your street. Have you noticed a slowdown in hiring around Lawton? Let us know in the comments.