Tulsa’s unemployment rate decreased from 3.9% to 3.1%, and the number of unemployed decreased by about 4,000 to 15,079, compared to 37,552 in July 2020.
The number of people working also declined, however, both in Tulsa and throughout the state. Tulsa payrolls shrank by about 2,200 from June to July, and by about 15,000 statewide.
More birthdays: The Oklahoma State Department of Health said the state’s infant mortality rate declined from 8.2 deaths in the first year per 1,000 live births to 6.7.
That’s still well above the national rate of 5.9 deaths per 1,000 births.
No smoking: Directors of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust asked the Legislature to further limit Oklahomans’ exposure to second-hand smoke and emerging products such as nicotine toothpicks and vapor products.
Specifically, the TSET board called for allowing local governments to adopt public smoking policies more stringent than state law, and to reverse a new law that excludes most new nicotine products from the the taxes and regulations on traditional products such as cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.
The TSET board also adopted a resolution reiterating its mission, which has come under attack from lawmakers and others eager to tap into agency’s $1.2 billion trust fund.
