Bricktown's Booming Business Offers More Jobs

By Jacqueline Sit, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- New numbers on unemployment show the rate is at its highest level in more than two decades. But Bricktown is bucking the trend.

In fact, business is doing anything but sinking, especially for one Bricktown company.

The great news is that in Bricktown, everyone is hiring and one business that's literally staying afloat is hiring dozens of people to keep up with one of the busiest times of the year.

"It's kinda like driving a rear wheel drive truck on ice with no brakes," water taxi trainee Ryan Lemasters said.

But Lemasters is finally getting a break after graduating last year; he's been on the job hunt with no luck until he boarded the water taxi.

"I've waited months for positions to open up before when I was in school and it really surprised me how together everything was," Lemasters said.

He's working in the heart of Bricktown, where it's treading on its busiest time of the year, while the national economy is sinking; the boom in business is keeping the water taxi business afloat. They've just hired 20 people in the last few weeks, from teachers to people with Masters Degrees.

"What we're seeing is the quality of these applicants tends to be a little bit better in that type of economic climate," Chad Huntington with Water Taxi Oklahoma City/Bricktown said.

Just across the way at the ballpark, their neighbors, The Redhawks, are getting ready to kick off baseball season, and they've hired 200 people so far and counting.

"As things are slowing down nationally, economy wise we're actually picking up down here," Jim Cowan with the Bricktown Association said. "So, the busier it is, the more employees we need and that's good if you need a job in Oklahoma City."

Water Taxi Oklahoma City/Bricktown is planning on hiring more workers in the coming weeks.

Find more information on job opportunities in Bricktown.