The Chattanooga Times Free Press covered the 2025 CRER Forecast Breakfast held on October 22: Howard Wall, the director of the Center for Regional Economic Research, told local officials he expects an average growth of 3,000 jobs by the end of 2025. Next year, however, he foresees a decent level of growth at 6,500 jobs. Wall…
10/23/25: Housing Affordability Trends in Chattanooga
A new research paper from the CRER examines housing affordability in the Chattanooga metro area. It looks at a variety of measures of housing affordability that account for increases in the median price, rising household incomes, smaller housing units, and the sharp increase in mortgage rates. It concludes that house affordability remains a problem relative…
10/22/25: CRER Releases Fall Forecast of Chattanooga Metro Employment
The CRER produces quarterly forecasts of the growth of nonfarm payroll employment in the Chattanooga MSA. Forecasts depend on the consensus forecast of the U.S. economy from the Blue Chip Economic Indicator survey. Our new forecast is a net gain of twelve hundred jobs in the third quarter, and for growth to rise throughout 2026.…
10/14/25: Tennessee Lawmakers Push for End of Grocery Tax
News Channel 9 explored a proposal to end sales taxes on groceries in Tennessee and possibly replace the lost revenue with higher taxes on businesses. CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall was concerned that these additional distortions were economically inefficient: A concern Howard Wall, director and chief economist at the Center for Regional Economic…
10/3/25: Federal Workers Brace for Impact as Government Shutdown Enters Day 3
News Channel 9 continued its coverage of the local impact of the Federal government shutdown. CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall provided his views on who will be affected most. “It’s probably the federal employees that are the ones who who bear the brunt of the economic effects.”“They’re not being paid, so some of…