OKC MAPS PROJECTS – 25 YEARS
Neighboring counties supplied the remaining one-third of workers in the period, a reflection of the continued broad distribution of labor across the region. Residents of both Cleveland and Canadian counties gained about 1,000 downtown jobs each in the period. Significant numbers of downtown workers continue to commute long distances from counties with large population pools such as Pottawatomie County (954 workers), Comanche County (528 workers), and Payne County (448 workers). Many workers also commute from other surrounding counties with smaller population centers including Logan County (1,030 workers), Grady County (917 workers), McClain County (800 workers), and Creek County (320 workers). Another notable shift in labor supply to the downtown study area is a reduced reliance on the number of downtown workers commuting from Tulsa County. A decline of more than 600 Tulsa County-based workers (22.6% decline) is reported in the period. Despite the decline, approximately 2,100 workers still report commuting from Tulsa County for work in the downtown study area in 2015. Resident Workers . Despite large and growing numbers of in-commuters to downtown, growth in employment of residents who live in the study area has been even stronger. Measured from the recent bottom in 2010, employment among study area residents regardless of where they work increased 26.8% through 2015, or a total of 5,280 workers (see Panel C of Figure 30). Even when measured from the temporary spike in hiring in 2009 when the general downtown job recovery began, employment among study area residents was still up 14.0% through 2015. Strong overall employment gains for those living downtown is a critical measure of success in developing a larger residential base of workers in the study area, part of whom will commute outward for work in other areas of the city and region. Residents Living and Working Downtown . The focus of MAPS on placemaking suggests that those who are both living and working downtown should undergo above-average growth as well. The data suggest there are encouraging differences in the share of the 9,000 net new jobs in the downtown study area that were filled by downtown residents versus in-commuters (see panels C and D of Figure 30). The growth rate for downtown jobs has been larger and more persistent for residents who live in the study area versus commuters coming from outside downtown. Total jobs in downtown held by downtown residents were at a recent bottom of 1,006 in 2010 and increased by 600 to just above 1,600 in 2015, a 59% gain in the period. Though the absolute numbers are smaller than for commuters, growth rates are far larger and suggest an important ongoing shift in the labor supply of the region. This shift in labor supply toward local residents is an early sign of future shifts in the structure of the labor market in the study area and is a highly anticipated outcome of MAPS. Typically referred to as employment efficiency, a high share of local residents employed locally is a key component of the urban development strategy implemented within MAPS whereby downtown becomes a more desirable place to both live and work. Residents both living and working in the study area are profiled by age and wage level in Figure 33. Two major trends are present among these worker-residents: 1. Most of the new jobs are held by workers ages 30 to 54, with a total of 854 in 2015. This reflects a gain of about 300 since 2011 and 350 since 2007. In addition, rapid growth is taking place more recently among workers ages 29 and younger, another segment of the workforce that is a priority of the MAPS projects. An estimated 437 persons ages 29 and younger were both living
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