The latest issue of the Chattanooga Times Free Press’s Edge magazine has CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall providing his perspective on the Chattanooga economy in 2025:
Although Wall downgraded an earlier forecast for employment growth, the UTC economist still predicts metropolitan Chattanooga will add 6,700 jobs in the next year. That would be slower than the post-pandemic boom, but would still rank among Chattanooga’s top 10 years for job growth.
“The success of Chattanooga’s economy over the past decade has been fairly broad,” says Wall, who bills himself as Chattanooga’s economist. “The Chattanooga economy is not incredibly tied to the national economy, except if there is a downturn. Chattanooga is more manufacturing-based and recessions historically have been more devastating for Chattanooga.”
Wall doesn’t expect to see a manufacturing employment boom in 2025 like the one seen after the pandemic, but he does predict continued growth in the coming year. But trade policies could affect the sector.
“Mass deportations and tariffs could hurt the economy next year,” he says.