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Oklahoma's Secretary of Commerce and Workforce Development spoke at the Bartlesville Community Center on Thursday.

So far in 2019, Secretary Sean Kouplen said they have seen 30 new announcements from existing companies that are expanding or new companies that are coming to Oklahoma.

That has created 3,200 new jobs in the State within 12 communities. The average salary for those jobs has been $65,000, which has resulted in a $150 million payroll addition, and over half a billion dollars in investment in the first 5 months.

Secretary Kouplen said Oklahoma ranks in the top five in the country for job announcements.

According to Secretary Sean Kouplen, however, there are approximately 150,000 job openings in Oklahoma.

61-percent of able bodied workers in Oklahoma work. That ranks Oklahoma 50th among other States. There are also 400,000 people in the State that do not have a G.E.D or high school diploma.

Secretary Kouplen said there is a lot of work to do and solutions to bring about to fix this issue. He attributed the low workforce participation rate to transportation and technology issues, and the Oklahoma high incarceration rate.

In an effort to re-brand Oklahoma, Secretary Sean Kouplen said they will gather 100 professionals from across Oklahoma to create a new brand.

The new brand will be revealed at the State of the State address next January. That leaves Secretary Kouplen and the professionals 6-months to work with.

Secretary Kouplen said they are going to change the perception of Oklahoma for the better. Also, if you have a company that has a great success story, he asks that you go to their website.

The website is okcommerce.gov. On the website, you will find a big button that says "Tell Your Success Story."

Secretary Kouplen said if your company started in Oklahoma, you grew here, you came here, you have a unique program or anything that they can share, you can tell them your story. 

The forum at the Bartlesville Community Center Thursday was put on by the Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce.