local economic forecast shows gradual improvement

Last week, Russell Evans, executive director of the Economic Research and Policy Institute at the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University, presented an economic forecast update to the City Council. The update provided an overview of current national and state economic conditions and their implications for Oklahoma City’s economic outlook.

This type of information is helpful for the Alliance, City Council and others in making short- and long-term decisions for Oklahoma City. His comments reflected good and bad news and ultimately recommended an attitude of cautious optimism.

According to Evans, real gross domestic product growth nationally in the first quarter was just 0.8 percent, which heightened concerns of broad economic weakness both in the U.S. and abroad. The second quarter is looking less bleak, with the U.S. economy tracking 2.2-percent growth. That being said, the May jobs report estimated the creation of only 38,000 new payroll positions, which was less than previous reports had estimated.

Evans noted that Oklahoma City has a different employment situation than the rest of the state, which he believes is a reflection of urbanization, density enhancement and the geography of the I-35 corridor. In spite of that distinction, the city’s fiscal outlook is largely reflective of the more pronounced economic weakness in the rest of the state.

Read the full article at The Journal Record.