WDEF in Chattanooga has a story about the recently released CRER forecast for the Chattanooga economy. They spoke with CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall: Dr. Wall said, “Manufacturing has been slow for a couple of years and that’s nationally not just locally, although there’s special cases locally, and manufacturing has not been helped…
1/16/26: Chattanooga MSA Employment and Unemployment Data Release
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released its first estimates of metropolitan area employment and unemployment for November 2025. According to the seasonally adjusted estimates, total nonfarm employment in the six-county Chattanooga MSA was 297,400 in November 2025, or 300 more jobs than in October and 2,000 more jobs than a year earlier. For…
1/14/26: New CRER Forecast for the Chattanooga Metro Economy
The CRER produces quarterly forecasts of payroll employment growth for the six-county Chattanooga metro area. The latest forecast indicates net job gains of about 5,000 during 2026, which would be a big improvement over 2025. Even so, that would make the year a weak one relative to recent history. Job growth should return to normal…
1/12/26: A Return On Gig City Investment For The Chattanooga Area
CRER research scholar Bento Lobo recently appeared on WUTC’s Scenic Roots to speak about his research on the benefits of broadband investment in Chattanooga. Among his findings are that “Since EPB launched its fiber optic network and automated electric grid here in Chattanooga in 2010, those investments have generated 5.3 billion dollars of economic gains…
12/30/25: Make it Make Cents: Now-Retired Pennies Pose Puzzle for Chattanooga Consumers, Businesses
Newschannel9’s story on the penny shortage included comments from CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall: (T)he penny shortage was inevitable. He explained that the Federal Reserve stopped distributing pennies months ago and added, “Now, the other part of it is that a penny just isn’t worth what it used to be. So that’s really…