This paper analyzes wage trends in the Chattanooga metro area between 2001 and 2023. Throughout this period, wages in the area were below those for the country as a whole. The first half of the period, which had two recessions, saw Chattanooga’s real median wage fall while the country’s rose. During the second half, however,…
1/13/2025: The Outlook for the Chattanooga Economy in 2025
CRER director Howard Wall visited with Jed & JR Mornings on Talk Radio 102.3 to talk about what to expect for the local and national economy in 2025. Is there a recession on the way? What are things to look at? What about the Trump tariffs? Listen to the discussion here.
1/4/2025: Jobs and Unemployment Release for November 2024 from the BLS for Chattanooga
Today’s jobs and unemployment report provides a mixed picture of the Chattanooga MSA’s labor market: Job growth has been strong over the past twelve months, but unemployment rose somewhat from a relatively low rate. In addition, monthly job growth was zero, which followed two months of solid growth. Overall, the data indicate that the local…
1/1/25: What Will the New Year Bring for Chattanooga’s Economy?
The latest issue of the Chattanooga Times Free Press’s Edge magazine has CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall providing his perspective on the Chattanooga economy in 2025: Although Wall downgraded an earlier forecast for employment growth, the UTC economist still predicts metropolitan Chattanooga will add 6,700 jobs in the next year. That would be…
12/27/24: What a More Than $35 Trillion National Debt Could Mean for Chattanoogans
CRER director and chief economist Howard Wall and Scott L. Probasco Distinguished Chair of Free Enterprise Claudia Williamson Kramer provide their perspectives on the Federal debt. “In World War II, we borrowed a lot of money to finance buying weapons and arming the world to fight Nazis and Japan,” Howard Wall, chief economist at the…