OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – Most business leaders across Oklahoma feel optimistic about the direction the state’s economy is heading, but they are concerned about the availability of a skilled workforce and the education system’s effectiveness in preparing students for the workforce, according to the 2024 Oklahoma Business Leaders Poll.
The Business Leaders Poll (BLP) is an annual collaboration from the The State Chamber of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Business Roundtable and the State Chamber Research Foundation (SCRF).
BLP is a survey that probes Oklahoma’s business community, questioning business leaders about the state of business, the economy, workforce and education. It also gauges business leaders on emerging issues such as artificial intelligence (AI).
Now in its fourth year, BLP seeks to create a comprehensive overview of business leaders’ top concerns and provide a guide for growth to the legislators who shape the state’s economic and business development initiatives. This year’s Business Leaders Poll surveyed 325 business owners and executives across Oklahoma.
“We want to have data to always inform our prioritization of issues and how we approach policy development. This annual survey is a key component of our policy development process. It’s hard to know what business leaders care about unless you ask them,” said SCRF Executive Director Ben Lepak. “Each year we poll business leaders in a scientific survey to determine what are their pain points, where do they see opportunity for the state, and where do they think that the state needs to move to make Oklahoma’s economy as competitive and pro-growth as it can possibly be.”
This year’s poll results reveal that business leaders have concerns about the climate for business growth.
A large majority of business leaders are optimistic about the state’s economy, but less so than last year. Sixty-seven percent of those leaders say the state’s economy is heading in the right direction, but that’s a decline from the 70 percent who felt optimistic in 2023.
“The annual Business Leaders Poll reveals encouraging signs about our state’s direction and overall business climate.” said Mark Funke of The Oklahoma Business Roundtable. “However, it also highlights critical areas requiring attention—specifically, taxes, workforce, and education. The feedback from business leaders is clear and presents a roadmap for the work that needs to be done.”
The poll shows that 42 percent of business leaders consider workforce and education to be the most pressing issue facing businesses in Oklahoma. The poll also found that 78 percent of those leaders support either reducing or eliminating the state income tax.
“As we’ve seen in the last few years, workforce and education continue to be a top priority for business leaders. They’re struggling to find the workers that they need that have the skills that they need for their business to grow and succeed,” Lepak said. “On top of that, there was strong support among business leaders for pro-growth tax reform, particularly looking at Oklahoma’s individual income tax and trying to move forward on that item as well.”
Click here for the full 2024 Oklahoma Business Leaders Poll report.
