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: The 2nd Longest Government Shutdown Continues to Impact More in Tennessee Valley
CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall was interviewed for a story on Local3News about the continuing Federal government shutdown: “You hear about and you talk to people who run nonprofits that provide meals or rent assistance, things like that. And once like, the chain of payment from the federal government through nonprofits to families…
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…