Economic outlook improves for Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY — We’re not out of danger yet, but the Oklahoma economic outlook does seem to be looking up.

State finance leaders say collections by Oklahoma's largest operating fund so far this fiscal year are almost 13 percent higher than the same period last year.

Denise Northrup, director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, said Wednesday the state's coffers have not fully recovered from a prolonged slump in energy prices.

In spite of the good financial news, Northrup says the current year's budget has still not been fully funded with only four months left.

Collections by the general revenue fund during the first seven months of the fiscal year that began July 1 were $3.3 billion, which is $369 million or 12.7 percent over the same period in the previous year.

Last month, collections totaled $596 million, almost $91 million or 18 percent above January 2017.