Tulsa's Economy Stats

<b>Job Growth</b><br><br>Preliminary estimates show that the average number of jobs in the Tulsa MSA increased to an all time high of 406,808 during 1999, up 3.5 percent (13,917 jobs) from 1998. The Tulsa

Monday, February 28th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Job Growth

Preliminary estimates show that the average number of jobs in the Tulsa MSA increased to an all time high of 406,808 during 1999, up 3.5 percent (13,917 jobs) from 1998. The Tulsa area's job growth continues to outpace growth in all but 35 metropolitan areas. Growth has been fueled by business relocations. Navistar's announcement in late 1999 that it would open a bus manufacturing plant and hire 13,000 people will certainly contribute to job growth in 2000 and beyond.

There were 412,900 jobs in the Tulsa area in December, up 2.8 percent from December 1998. The top 10 non-professional openings during the last six months were for material handlers, general clerks, machine set-up operators, construction workers, store laborers, production assemblers, sales route drivers, cashiers, general laborers and receptionists. The number of jobs is expected to increase over 2 percent during 2001.

Unemployment

The average unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in Tulsa County (unchanged from 1998), 3.4 percent in the Tulsa MSA (unchanged), 3.6 percent in the state (down from 4.5 percent), and 4.2 percent nationally (down from 4.5 percent). The top 10 non-professional jobs applied for during the last six months were material handler, customer service clerk, production assembler, store laborer, administrative assistant, data entry clerk, receptionist, cashier, accounting clerk and secretary.

The unemployment rate in Tulsa County stood at 2.9 percent in December, 2.9 percent in the MSA, 3.1 percent statewide, and 3.7 percent nationwide.