What a $18.60 Paycheck Can Change in OKC
Claire and Miles look at a current Oklahoma City-area wage comparison, upcoming hiring events in Norman and Del City, and how a higher hourly rate could affect a renter’s monthly budget. They also share a practical note for unemployment claimants about the state portal maintenance window.
Chapter 1
Tomorrow in Norman and a Warehouse Wage Bump
Claire Brooks
Welcome to The 405 Payroll, the lunchtime show for Oklahoma City working people who want a bigger paycheck and an easier month. I'm Claire Brooks.
Miles
And I'm Miles. Today's episode is made for our OKCREAL neighbors, so everything we mention is something you can act on from right where you live. Claire, what's the headline?
Claire Brooks
Two things, and they land a day apart. Tomorrow, Thursday, October 22, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission is promoting the Build My Future Career Fair at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in Norman, 615 East Robinson Street. It runs from 3:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon, and it's built for adults as well as students, with employers in the trades.
Miles
Trades. That's work where your pay tends to climb as your skills do. And the listing says to bring copies of your resume, because people may interview right there.
Claire Brooks
Right. The official listing doesn't name the employers, so I won't guess at brands. Just know it's free to walk in. And if your afternoon is tied up, there's also a Veterans Job and Resource Fair in Del City tomorrow from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
Miles
Okay, you said two things. What's the second?
Claire Brooks
Wages. Amazon's hiring site says hourly rates for regular and seasonal warehouse associates increased effective September 27. The page doesn't print the new number, and the Oklahoma City search showed no matching openings when we checked, so I won't hand you a figure I can't back up. What I can back up: FedEx is posting Oklahoma City package handler jobs starting at $18.60 an hour.
Miles
Put that in rent terms for me. What does $18.60 actually do for a month?
Claire Brooks
Forty hours at $18.60 is $744 a week before taxes. Compare that to $15 an hour, which is $600 for the same forty hours. That's $144 more every week, or roughly $620 more in a month, before taxes. For a lot of households, that's a real piece of the rent.
Miles
And nobody had to work harder to get it. Same body, same forty hours, different employer. I love that.
Claire Brooks
One more practical note. If you file weekly unemployment claims, the state's online claimant portal will be down from Friday at 5:00 PM until Saturday at 7:00 PM for maintenance. You can still file a weekly claim by phone at four oh five, five two five, fifteen hundred.
Miles
Good to know. Alright, let's find out who's hiring.