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…
10/14/25: 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…
10/3/25: Economist Says Effects of a Volkswagen Strike Could be “Very Bad”
Volkswagen employees and the company have still not agreed on a contract after more than a year and a half of negotiation. The employees’ union has started talking about and training for a strike if their demands aren’t met. Local 3 News has a story about how a strike might affect the Chattanooga economy in…
9/30/25: UAW Prepares for Possible Strike in Chattanooga
News Channel 9 had a story about how the UAW appears to be getting close to calling a strike against Volkswagen given the stalemate in negotiations. Howard Wall, director of UTC’s regional economic research, says…“Strikes are pretty ugly, and if it lasts for any amount of time, it’s not just Volkswagen that’ll be affected in…