In a recent story on Local 3 News in Chattanooga, CRER director and chief economics Howard Wall provided his take on the effects of tariffs: “They make us poorer as consumers because we pay more for things. And for producers, they’re not good.” Wall went on to say, “If we do produce things that we didn’t, that…
7/31/25: UTC Chief Economist Talks Trump Tariffs at Rotary Club
President Trump has imposed high and wide-ranging tariffs with a goal of reducing the US trade deficit with the rest of the world. Channel 12 News covered a talk at the Chattanooga Rotary Club by CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall. He described why economists don’t view trade deficits a bad thing and see…
7/22/25: Which Chattanooga Area Sectors Grew, Shrank as Employment Dipped?
The Chattanooga Times Free Press examined a CRER analysis of new BLS data describing recent trends in Chattanooga employment and unemployment: The number of employees in the Chattanooga metro area fell slightly over the past year as private education and health jobs gained the most workers and the manufacturing sector lost the most. “That’s reflective of a…
6/28/25: The Chattanooga Unemployment Rate Has Been Creeping Up
A story on Channel 9 News about unemployment in Chattanooga featured CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall. He said that “The percentage of people who are unemployed, is ticking up tiny bits month by month, but overall it’s still really historically low.” “When you see like this uptick in unemployment, it’s usually like the…
6/23/25: Rising Costs, Low Wages Challenge Poverty Reduction Efforts in Chattanooga
Channel 9 News featured recent CRER research in a story about poverty trends in the Chattanooga metro area. CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall was quoted about some of this findings and their implications: “A good economy is absolutely necessary to reduce poverty, but it’s not going to be magic.” “Both areas saw decreased…