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City of Bartlesville
Posted: Feb 04, 2020 1:13 PMUpdated: Feb 04, 2020 7:27 PM
Economic Forecast is Looking Good for Bartlesville
Tom Davis
Bartlesville is doing well and is ontrack for new growth. That was the message heard at the Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce Forum Luncheon Tuesday at City Church.
Dr. Mark Snead, the President of RegionTrack, Inc., says Bartlesville has outgrown the downsizing in the oil and gas sector has constrained local economic activity in the Bartlesville area since 2015.
Some of the highlights presented by Dr. Snead includes the local economy showing clear signs of stabilization in late 2018 and through 2019: the local jobless rate remaining low; retail sales growth fully rebounding; and housing prices remain steady.
Snead's research also indicated that the region has shown only modest declines in population and little outmigration of displaced workers, but there is continued weakness in single-family housing being offset by significant multi-family development.
Snead's bottom lline is that the region is expected to emerge in 2020 from much of the influence of recent oil and gas downsizing.
Bartlesville Mayor Dale Copland agreed with many of Dr. Snead's takeaways in his presentation saying, "The best thing I saw was the resiliency of this community and this county to weather the ups and downs from the bubble burst the late 90's, the '02, the '08-'09 dips. And although we suffered them it was not nearly to the degree that so many other places had to do. And the resiliency and the work ethic in Bartlesville and Washington County has been tremendous. I think it was a great takeaway as something we sensed but now we see the data that supports it."
Dr. Snead is an economist. His research interests focus primarily on regional economic modeling and forecasting, local area economic development, and the economic role of the nation’s energy-producing regions.
The forum is designed to give business and community leaders in-sight on the previous year as well as a forecast for the year ahead by analyzing the economic indicators that could impact business performance for the upcoming year.
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