State unemployment rate drops below 5 percent

KRMG has learned Oklahoma's unemployment rate has dropped to a five-year low.

The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported on Friday the rate has fallen to 4.9 percent.

This is the first time the rate has been below 5 percent since 2008.

The report states around 89,400 Oklahomans were unemployed in March.

Only the government sector reported job losses.  Around 1,700 jobs were lost in that sector in March.

The OESC say the state's booming oil and gas industry is a big reason Oklahoma remains below the national average of 6.7 percent.