Ponca City Development Authority 102 S. Fifth, Suite 3 Ponca City, OK 74601 580-765-7070

Contact: David Myers Ponca City Development Authority 580.765.7070 PONCA CITY JOB GROWTH SIGNIFICANTLY EXCEEDS STATE AND NATIONAL GROWTH Jobs in Ponca City are being added at a rate of 3.8% in 2006, a rate that is double the Oklahoma state rate of 1.9%. Put into context, the Oklahoma rate is well above the national growth rate of 1.4% which means that the Ponca City economy is growing at just under three times the national rate. In terms of actual jobs, these percentages translate into 731 more net, new jobs in Ponca City this year. These findings were released in the 2006 Economic Report and 2007 Economic Forecast, prepared and delivered by Dr. Mark Snead of the Oklahoma State University Center for Applied Research, which was released on November 17th, at the Ponca City Economic Conference held at Pioneer Technology Center. Snead called this growth rate "strong" and said that 2007 would also be "solid," with the local economy adding 250 net new jobs next year. The report also found that personal incomes rose 8% this year. Incomes will continue to rise in 2007, he added. The economist cautioned many long time residents and business people, however, that the job growth in Ponca City is quite different than in year's past. He noted that Ponca City's history as a "company town" for ConocoPhillips is over and that the local economy now acts and reacts like most American communities. This shift began to occur, noted Snead, in the mid 1990's when residents passed a one half cent sales tax measure to support economic development efforts to diversify the economy. New manufacturers and service based industries have since made Ponca City their home and this has had an extremely positive impact upon the local economy. Local job growth in 2006, according to the report, was diverse. Professional, scientific and technical occupations grew by 12.9%, manufacturing jobs continued to grow, adding 3.1% new jobs this year, wholesale trade jobs were up 6.9%, information jobs grew by 3.6% and leisure and hospitality gained 4%. Construction was up 4.6%, government added 8% and "other services" leaped 21.3%. Some occupations lost ground during the year including finance and insurance which lost 0.5%, administrative support which was off 1.9% and agriculture which lost 30 total jobs. For 2007, Snead sees growth continuing in all of the occupations listed below except construction which enjoyed a strong year in 2006 and will likely shed 2.3% of its jobs next year. Overall, the Ponca City economy will top 20,000 jobs next year, the first time since prior to the ConocoPhillips merger in 2002 when there were 20,903 local jobs. In his remarks, Snead noted that the local economy had recovered from the merger. The Ponca City Economic Development Conference was the first in what is scheduled to be annual reviews of the local economy. This year's conference featured nationally known speaker Jack Schultz, the author of "Boomtown," Ed Morrison, the Founder of Cleveland-based I-Open, a panel of high school and college students describing their future "community of choice" and a presentation on the new University Multispectral Lab, a project being developed in Ponca City by Oklahoma State University which was announced earlier this year. Posted 11/30/2006 Chamber of Commerce | Relocating | Education © www.goponca.com - Ponca City Development Authority - Ponca City, Oklahoma