At the 15th annual Edmond Economic Preview Jan. 31 on the University of Central Oklahoma campus, Edmond officials touted data from last year that showed the city added 206 net jobs, and saw a jump in new commercial building permits and new residential permits.

As in years past, Deidre Myers, with the state Department of Commerce, gave an overview of state highlights, while Edmond Economic Development Executive Director Janet Yowell touted local victories.

above, Construction workers building Sunflower Market in Edmond

While many states are still suffering the after effects of the recession, Myers showed Oklahoma ranked third last year in employment growth behind North Dakota and Utah. In 2011, the employment growth in Oklahoma was 2.7%. Myers said the number was good, but not great since a full employment recovery nationwide would have to be 3% nationwide.

“In 2011, Oklahoma had a very firm recovery year,” she said.

In employment index numbers, Myers showed the state and the Oklahoma City metro area rose to levels not seen for the past two years. Oklahoma’s average unemployment rate for 2011 was 5.9%. Only five states had lower average unemployment rates for the year.

Last year also found Oklahoma leading the nation in manufacturing growth at 8.4%. Myers said Oklahoma was the 20th worst hit state in manufacturing. During the recession of 72,000 jobs lost in Oklahoma, she said 31,000 were in manufacturing, with Tulsa the hardest hit area of the state.

Looking at local numbers, Yowell said 2010 was the biggest year for Edmond for building permits in terms of dollar amount. In 2011, that record was bested by $36 million with a total of 26 permits for a total dollar value of more than $102 million. Of those commercial permits, nearly $62 million were for office and medical office use. Those permits included about $6.5 million for 46,000 square feet of office space, and $55.5 million for 212,000 square feet of medical office space.

Yowell said medical office space needs likely will grow as health providers like Integris, Mercy and OU Medical Center Edmond expand health care options and facilities in the city.

In addition to more retailers expected to set up shop in Edmond, the city will welcome two new grocery stores to the market. Uptown Grocery Co. at Covell Road and Kelly Avenue is set to open in February, and Sunflower Farmers Market is set to open a store at 24 E. Second Street in March.

There were 391 residential permits filed for Edmond last year, an increase of 31.65% over 2010 for a dollar value of more than $111 million. While the trend has been to build smaller homes, Yowell said some big spenders are building expensive homes in Edmond.

“We had five homes permitted at more than $1 million,” she said.

Photo by Shannon Cornman