Oklahoma City’s tourism economy reached record levels in 2024, according to a new report by the Tourism Economics group within Oxford Economics. The study found that 24.5 million visitors came to OKC last year, driving $2.8 billion in direct spending and fueling a total economic impact of $4.6 billion.
In this month’s Leadership Notes, Chamber President and CEO Christy Gillenwater emphasizes the importance of Oklahoma City’s visitor economy as a powerful catalyst for investment, talent attraction and long-term growth.
The Oklahoma City metropolitan area posted a preliminary unemployment rate of 3.0% in July, improving from 3.2% in June. The metro has recorded unemployment below 4% for 48 consecutive months, the longest such stretch in its modern history.
As Oklahoma City’s manufacturing sector continues to expand, a new generation of skilled workers is stepping up to power that growth. On July 7, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber celebrated the latest milestone for its workforce development efforts with a special signing event for Oklahoma’s first chapter of the nationally recognized Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (OKC FAME) program.
The Greater Oklahoma City aerospace industry remains a cornerstone of the regional economy, generating $8.8 billion in goods and services and supporting more than 80,200 jobs, according to the latest Greater Oklahoma City Region Aerospace and Aviation Industry Survey and Economic Impact Assessment released by the Greater OKC Chamber and RegionTrack, Inc.
Dennis Pruitt, senior vice president of economic development at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, brings more than two decades of experience across local, regional and international markets. From city planning in Kansas to foreign investment strategy in Missouri, his background is rooted in collaboration, preparation and results.
Oklahoma City ranked No. 1 lowest unemployment rate in April among the 56 U.S. metropolitan areas with a population of over 1 million, signaling strength in the local economy. The metro’s 2.3% unemployment rate was down from 3.0% in March.
Wheeler Bio announced its successful completion of an oversubscribed Series A-1 financing round, meaning the Oklahoma City-based company attracted more investor interest and funding offers than initially sought, a strong indicator of confidence in the company’s growth and potential. The $35 million round was led by Alloy Therapeutics and Echo Investment Capital (Echo), with additional participation from Mitsubishi Corp. (Americas), Germin8 Ventures and Russell Westbrook Enterprises.
