TN Banks, Businesses Wary of Obama Jobs Plan

From the Tennessean: "'I think the administration is trying to find something that works,' said David Penn, an economist with Middle Tennessee State University. 'There's no guarantee ... we won't know until they try.' Penn said it makes sense to give banks strong incentives to make loans, but he said tax credits aren't a cure-all. The problem with offering businesses a tax credit for creating jobs is that 'it will only work if the business is making a profit,' Penn said." (full story)

1 Out of 5 Workers Is Underemployed

http://www.tullahomanews.com/news/view_sections.asp?idcategory=9&idarticle=8681

-

From Tullahoma News: "The study, conducted by the Business and Economic Research Center at ... Middle Tennessee State University, shows that Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Moore and Warren counties have an estimated 18,055 people underemployed and 10,675 people who are discouraged workers." (full story)

Economic Outlook for the Nashville Area

Presented to Forward Sumner Annual Meeting by David Penn (presentation pdf, 01/27/10) -

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/presentations.html

Workers Available, Job Study Shows

From Shelbyville Times-Gazette: "A study conducted last summer by Middle Tennessee State University's Business and Economic Research Center (BERC) of a seven-county region of Southern Middle Tennessee, including Bedford County, shows that out of a work force of 121,782, not only were 18,523 unemployed but a similar number -- 18,055 -- were underemployed." (full story)

South's Jobless Seek Work in TN

From the Tennessean, Daily News Journal: "Those states which have diverse economies will perform a lot better than the others," said economist Murat Arik, associate director of the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University. Among Southeastern states, Tennessee has the second-most-diverse economy, trailing only Missouri, and that puts the Volunteer State in a better position for long-term recovery, Arik said. (full story)

Building Permits

Tennessee, Nashville MSA, and available midstate county data (building permits .xls, Jan. 22) -

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/database.html

Study: 1 in 5 Workers Underemployed in South Tenn

From Daily News Journal: "A study of employment in southern Middle Tennessee [released Wednesday by the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University] shows that one in every five workers is underemployed." (full story)

Available Labor Force in Southern Middle Tennessee: An Underemployment Study

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/underemploymentstudy.html -

Prepared for Local Workforce Investment Area 6 and Industrial Development Boards of Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Moore, and Warren counties by BERC Associate Director Murat Arik and Director David A. Penn

Labor Force Data for Tennessee by Month

• By County - http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/laborforce.html
• By MSA and for the state - http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/arealaborforce.html

Slide Show: Nashville Indicators

The Tennessean has created a handy slide show summary of BERC's Nashville MSA indicators.

Link also at top of BERC home page -

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/index.html

Nashville MSA Economic Indicators

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/updatestables.html -
Updated through November

Unemployment: Tennessee Initial and Continued Claims

full story: http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/claims.html -
In the week ending December 19, seasonally adjusted weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance in Tennessee totaled 8,522, down from 8,968 in the previous week.... 

2009 Economy: By the Numbers

From Daily News Journal (Jan. 3: "David Penn ... explained at the 2009 Economic Outlook Conference [Sept. 24] ... The Nashville area needs to recoup the 46,000 payroll jobs lost in the past year, but it also needs to create employment for the annual influx of new job seekers ... To see recovery by 2014 ... a 2.3 percent rate of growth would be necessary each year." (full story)

Nashville Strikes a New Chord

From Nashville Business Journal (Jan. 1): "The biggest economic development coup of the decade was the relocation of Nissan North America's headquarters from California to Williamson County.... 'It's marketing you could never pay enough for when a company makes that kind of decision,' said David Penn, director of the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University." (full story)