While forecasters expect the economic recovery pace to slow a bit as we make our way through 2022, BOK Financial® market leaders are optimistic about the outlook across the company’s eight-state footprint.
The U.S. Midwest and Southwest are not immune to national trends around supply chain challenges and labor shortages but are still expected to outpace other parts of the country in the coming year.
- Three of the company’s markets are among the nation’s top 10 for economic stability and potential: Colorado (No. 2), Arizona (No. 7 ) and Texas (No. 9), according to a 2021 report by U.S. News that measured employment, business environment and growth.
- Five BOK Financial markets (Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Houston, Denver and Arkansas) are among the best cities and states for small businesses in 2022, according to Business News Daily.
- While the U.S. population grew by a historic low of 0.1% between 2020 and 2021, Arizona and Texas are among the nation’s fastest growing states, at 1.4% and 1.1% growth, respectively.
“Businesses and economies in our markets are generally doing well as we come out of the pandemic,” said Stacy Kymes, chief executive officer of BOK Financial. “The business-friendly climate and generally lower cost of living are attractive to both employers and workers, which is evident through the in-migration trends we’ve seen in many of our states.
“The economic diversity is rich and new industries are emerging, and we are there to support those businesses and communities as they grow.”
But there are risks ahead as well. Business leaders are feeling the pinch across the nation in a variety of areas.
“One of the biggest general economic risks is what will happen with inflation and the Fed rate hikes this year,” Kymes said. “We are also keenly aware of challenges around finding good workers with the continued pressures on the labor market, lingering supply chain disruption and even the strain on the housing supply in certain areas.”
We dug into the 2022 trends forecast by local economic researchers impacting the workforce, population changes, specialized industry growth and income patterns in each of the BOK Financial markets.
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