The CRER has released its latest forecast of quarterly job growth in the Chattanooga MSA through 2025. Major changes at the national level since the previous forecast include a general election and two rounds of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Although forecasters are slightly more optimistic about US GDP in 2025, they are…
11/12/2024: Tennessee Considers Eliminating its Grocery Tax
CRER Chief Economist and Director Howard Wall appeared on News Channel 9 to give his two cents on a proposal to eliminate the 4 percent grocery tax levied by the state of Tennessee. His argument was that the state has a fairly efficient tax system with a broad tax base that allows it to have…
11/7/2024: Fed Cuts Interest Rate for the Second Time This Year
CRER Research Scholar Dr Bento Lobo was interviewed on Channel 3 about the latest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. “Well, the message from the Fed right now is that the economy appears to be in good shape,” says Lobo. “Inflation is under control, and lowering rates is unlikely to fuel greater inflation at this…
11/7/2024: The Geography and Demographics of the Chattanooga Jobs Boom
Previous CRER research described how employment growth in the Chattanooga metro area from 2014 to 2022 was spread across demographic groups. This paper extends that research by comparing the effects across parts of the metro area and across demographic groups within each part. For most categories, the changes in the city of Chattanooga differ from…
11/4/2024: How Will the Presidential Election Affect the Chattanooga Freight Industry?
The Chattanooga Times Free Press explored how the economic health of the Chattanooga freight industry might differ under the two presidential candidates. CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall discussed how both candidates’ policies leave a lot to be desired, but that the expansive tariff plans of Donald Trump pose the biggest threat to the…