Latest / The 405 Payroll / From Tourism Boom to Better Pay in Oklahoma City

Transcript

From Tourism Boom to Better Pay in Oklahoma City · The 405 Payroll

• 0:13
  So, 25 million people visited Oklahoma City last year.
• 0:19
  25 million.
• 0:20
  Wait, 25 million?
• 0:23
  That, that is a huge number.
• 0:26
  That is like, what, half the country passing through?
• 0:31
  Well, according to Visit OKC, those visitors spent 2.9 billion dollars across the
• 0:38
  metro area.
• 0:39
  And that expenditure supported around 36,000 local hospitality and service jobs.
• 0:46
  Okay, 2.9 billion dollars.
• 0:50
  But, but here is the thing, Claire.
• 0:52
  If you are working one of those service jobs, or if you are just trying to pay rent
• 0:56
  in OKC right now, a headline like 2.9 billion dollars feels,
• 1:02
  um, kind of abstract, right?
• 1:04
  It feels like money happening to somebody else.
• 1:08
  Exactly.
• 1:09
  And that is the paradox we want to unpack today.
• 1:12
  Big top line economic growth does not automatically trickle into your checking
• 1:17
  account unless there are direct pipelines connecting workers to higher wages and
• 1:23
  actual benefits.
• 1:25
  Oh, man.
• 1:26
  I, I remember back in my early radio days, working those brutal five in the morning
• 1:31
  shifts.
• 1:32
  The station was bragging about record sales quarters, and I was sitting there
• 1:36
  calculating if I had enough cash for drive through coffee and gas to get home.
• 1:41
  It is a weird disconnect.
• 1:44
  It really is.
• 1:45
  But the good news is those direct pipelines actually exist right now if you know
• 1:50
  where to look.
• 1:52
  Take, for instance, a recent hiring event hosted by the Oklahoma Employment Security
• 1:56
  Commission and Walmart over at 5005 North Lincoln Boulevard.
• 2:01
  Wait, what were they hiring for?
• 2:03
  They brought 350 open positions to the table, both full time and part time.
• 2:10
  But the big takeaway was not just the job count, it was the package.
• 2:14
  We are talking full healthcare benefits, 401k matching, and college tuition
• 2:20
  assistance from day one.
• 2:22
  See, that is the bridge.
• 2:24
  Going from a low wage tipping role where your income swings week to week,
• 2:29
  to a corporate entry role with guaranteed healthcare and tuition coverage.
• 2:33
  That is how top line city growth actually becomes household stability.
• 2:38
  Right.
• 2:39
  Because 2.9 billion dollars in tourism spending is great for city tax revenue,
• 2:45
  but for individual renters, the real metric is wage growth and stability.
• 2:51
  So how do people actually move up that ladder?
• 2:54
  Like, if somebody is stuck making 15 to 18 dollars an hour right now in retail or
• 2:59
  restaurant work, what is the next step?
• 3:02
  Well, one of the fastest routes in the metro area is through short term career
• 3:06
  certifications at places like Metro Tech.
• 3:08
  They have specialized programs designed specifically to shift workers from that 15
• 3:13
  to 18 dollar bracket into 22 to 28 dollars an hour roles.
• 3:18
  In what kinds of fields?
• 3:20
  Logistics and health operations, mainly.
• 3:23
  These are sectors in Oklahoma City that are actively desperate for trained talent
• 3:28
  right now.
• 3:29
  And these certificates do not require four years of college.
• 3:32
  We are talking weeks or months of focused training.
• 3:36
  Man, going from 16 bucks an hour to 25 bucks an hour in logistics,
• 3:42
  that completely changes your monthly budget.
• 3:45
  That is the difference between stressing over every electric bill and actually
• 3:49
  building a small safety net.
• 3:51
  It really is.
• 3:53
  But even when your pay goes up, expenses can sneak up on you too.
• 3:58
  That is why pairing job growth with local support resources matters so much.
• 4:04
  What kind of resources?
• 4:05
  Organizations like the Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City,
• 4:09
  or CAA OKC.
• 4:12
  They offer direct utility assistance for families facing tight months,
• 4:16
  plus completely free financial coaching.
• 4:19
  Free financial coaching?
• 4:21
  That is huge.
• 4:23
  Because when you finally start making more money, you need a game plan so those
• 4:27
  extra earnings do not just evaporate into rising costs.
• 4:31
  Exactly.
• 4:33
  Higher wages buy you room to breathe, but financial coaching helps you hold onto
• 4:38
  that momentum long term.
• 4:40
  Alright, so let us make this concrete for anyone listening who is feeling stuck
• 4:45
  today.
• 4:46
  What is the immediate action step?
• 4:48
  Do not wait for the whole economic landscape to shift on its own.
• 4:53
  Celebrate small momentum wins.
• 4:55
  Put in an application for a direct hire role or reach out to a career counselor at
• 5:00
  OESC before 5:00 PM today.
• 5:04
  One phone call or one application before five today.
• 5:08
  You can do that during lunch.
• 5:11
  Absolutely.
• 5:12
  Take that one step and start converting those big city economic headlines into your
• 5:17
  own reality.
• 5:18
  Sounds like a plan to me.
• 5:20
  Good chatting, Claire.