A state economist who spoke to a Tulsa Regional Chamber audience Thursday said not all the repercussions of the pandemic have been negative.

“Whether you know it or not, you are significantly wealthier than you were pre-COVID,” said Dr. Mark Snead, president and economist at RegionTrack. “In the U.S. household sector, there’s been a 50-percent net-worth gain since the onset of COVID.”

Snead was one of the featured speakers at the Chamber’s final signature event of the year, the State of the Economy and Tulsa’s Future 2024 Annual Meeting, which was attended by about 450 people at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel & Convention Center.

He shared the stage with BOK Financial Chief Investment Strategist Steve Wyett, who delivered the national economic outlook. The event also featured a Tulsa’s Future panel discussion moderated by Kim Wilmes, the Chamber’s senior vice president of economic development. 

Snead said a positive for Tulsa has been its population growth, which has risen 1% each of the past four years. But he added that retail base growth remains flat to slightly down.

The energy sector has suffered in the past few years, as well, he said.

“Oil production dropped about a third after COVID, and we’ve recovered literally none,” he said. “Natural gas dropped about 15% after COVID, and we’ve only recovered about half of that production.”

Snead said consumers also should keep an eye on the immigration crisis at the southern border of the United States, adding that if a deportation of workers starts immediately, “it will have a noticeable impact on the economy.” 

Wyett praised the federal economy.

“The performance of the U.S. economy coming out of the pandemic has been nothing short of extraordinary,” he said. “It continues to be unbelievably resilient.”

Mexico has recently overtaken China as the largest source of imported goods for the United States.

“Expect this trend of deglobalization to continue,” he said.

Wyett also had a warning for Americans of a certain – advanced – age.

Stabilizing social security, Wyett said, will require changes to some or all of the following: FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) tax rates; FICA income caps; benefit amounts; retirement age and means testing.

“Without some change, Social Security is going to, by 2032, deplete its reserve fund,” he said. “That means every recipient of Social Security is going to get about a 23% benefit cut.”

The audience watched a five-minute video summarizing the 2024 successes of Tulsa’s Future, the Chamber-led regional economic development partnership.

Since its establishment in 2005, Tulsa’s Future has generated more than 80,000 jobs and more than $8 billion in capital investment. Over that span, at least 200 public and private investors have supported the initiative.

Courtney Dunbar, site selection director at Burns & McDonnell, and Rob Moskal, general manager at the aerospace company L3Harris Aeromet, talked about business attraction and retention during a Thursday panel discussion.

Both were complimentary of Tulsa’s business environment. 

“The community is viewed as a very positive place to do business, and I have been fortunate to be able to bring some prospects here, myself,” Dunbar said.

L3Harris develops, maintains and operates airborne missile tracking systems. In Tulsa since 1974 and at Tulsa International Airport since 2013, it is a technology supplier for military, government and commercial partners.

“For us, it has been a good experience in our growth,” Moskal said of the city. “Talent and workforce is key. It’s number one to be able to execute the kinds of programs that we execute.

“The local universities are doing a really good job of developing top-notch engineering talent: OU (University of Oklahoma), TU (University of Tulsa), OSU(Oklahoma State University), ORU (Oral Roberts University).

“We have had a great partnership with the (Tulsa Regional) Chamber and Oklahoma Department of Commerce to work on incentives to give our company an ability to invest capital here in Tulsa.”