In March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released revised estimates of state and metro area nonfarm employment. As a result, more than 4 thousand jobs were added to the estimated total employment in the Chattanooga metro area. Revisions of this sort are an annual occurrence and can lead to dramatic changes in what we…
3/23/2024: Recession and Recovery in Chattanooga
Although recessions are usually thought of as national-level events, there can be substantial differences across states and metro areas in when they occur. This paper determines and compares the timing of recessions for Chattanooga and four nearby metro areas. The shaded areas in the chart are the periods of recession in the Chattanooga metro area.…
2/25/2024: Chattanooga and Its Regional Economy
Chattanooga is situated at the literal crossroads between Atlanta, Birmingham, Knoxville, and Nashville, whose combined employment growth rate over the past 10 years was nearly double the national average. A full understanding of the Chattanooga metro economy requires an understanding of how it interacts with these large metro areas in its booming region. This paper…
1/28/2024: Chattanooga Metro Employment, 1990-2023
Over the past decade, the Chattanooga economy has undergone a manufacturing-led resurgence and has experienced job growth significantly higher than the national average. Over the period, the manufacturing sector changed from one dominated by non-durable goods such as food to one dominated by durable goods such as automobiles. This recent resurgence is in contrast with…