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Tulsa Activity Runs Industry Gamut

In nearby Tulsa, business has been doing equally as well. In fact, the average number of jobs in the MSA increased to a record high of 406,808 -- "up 3.5 percent from 1998," according to Rusty Linker, director of new business development with the Metro Tulsa Chamber of Commerce. "And we also continue to grow our labor pool," he adds. "Last year we attracted 7,000 new residents, and the average labor force increased by 3.7 percent to over 430,000 people."

This new labor is sure to be welcomed by the rapidly growing industry base in the area. Last year saw new facility or expansion announcements by a wide array of industries.

Much of Tulsa's recent growth has been in high-tech projects. Last year, Tulsa's aerospace and aviation firms added several new jobs to the market. Among some of the expansions were Aeromet (with 47 new jobs), Bizjet (50 jobs), NRODAM (345 positions), Thompson Training (flight simulators, 18 jobs), Tulsa Refurbishment (150 jobs) and United States Aviation (11 jobs).

Another high-tech concentration in Tulsa is telecommunications. According to a study conducted by Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce and Oral Roberts University, direct payroll of telecom companies in Tulsa is in excess of $682 million, and an additional $359.4 million payroll comes from supporting industries.

"Statistics suggest that one-third of job growth is directly related to this industry," says Dr. David Dyson, dean of the Oral Roberts University School of Business. "Few cities in the United States can match Tulsa's sophistication in terms of its digital, fiber-optic linked telephone network."

One of the largest telecom announcements in the past year came from Sabre, which will invest more than $500 million to expand its global data facilities in Tulsa. As part of the expansion, a new reservation center will be added, creating 1,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.

Other telecom moves in Tulsa came from a wide variety of service firms. Three collections companies located new facilities in Tulsa last year. With the new facilities, Eagle Credit, Midland Credit and United Recovery will add 985 jobs to the Tulsa economy.