Friday, June 29, 2012

Updated Economic Indicators

www.mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 
Economic indicators and employment heat tables for Tennessee and 10 MSAs have been updated through May.

  • Seasonally adjusted Tennessee initial claims for unemployment insurance climbed in May to a weekly average of 5,689 compared with 5,112 for April, signaling a rise in layoff activity. The less volatile moving average continued to decline, however, falling to its lowest level since April 2006.
  • The unemployment rate for Tennessee rose in May to 7.9 percent, as not enough jobs were created to absorb a rise in the number of job seekers. The unemployment rate increased from April in all metropolitan areas with the exception of Clarksville.
  • Seasonally adjusted single-family home construction for May rose substantially for Tennessee and for six of 10 metropolitan areas. The less volatile moving average is on the rise for Chattanooga, Clarksville, Knoxville, and Memphis MSAs but flat for the Cleveland, Jackson, Johnson City, and Morristown MSAs. The trend is falling somewhat for the Kingsport-Bristol and Nashville MSAs.
  • Seasonally adjusted state sales tax collections hit a rough spot in May, with the state and all but one MSA showing a drop from the previous month. The less volatile moving average continued to climb, however.
  • Nonfarm employment for May is virtually unchanged from April. Job growth has been very modest during the past four months.
See graphs and downloadable tables at Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery.