Economic Indicators Updated

http://capone.mtsu.edu/berc/tacir/tacir.html 

In March, Tennessee initial unemployment claims and single-family home construction permits rose while state sales tax collections, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment, unemployment rate, and average weekly hours fell. For graphs of details by MSA, check out Tracking Tennessee's Economy.

Construction Permits

http://capone.mtsu.edu/berc/tacir/tacir.html 

Due to a boom in multi-family construction in the Nashville MSA, total TN permits (including multifamily homes) are up 40.9% over the year. Details by MSA at Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery. 

Economic Indicators through August

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

• Seasonally adjusted initial claims for Tennessee dropped again in August, falling to a new post-recession low of 4,338 per week, after seasonal adjustments. Prior to the recession, initial claims averaged approximately 6,000 per week.
• Permits issued for single-family home construction for Tennessee rose to a post-recession high in August, climbing to 1,704 after seasonal adjustments. Over the year, single-family home permits have increased 28.3%. On the other hand, total permits (single-family plus multi-family) are just 1.0% higher over the year, showing how multi-family activity has cooled considerably.
• State sales tax collections gained 2.4% in August from the previous month, a large month-to-month increase. Over the year in August, seasonally adjusted state sales tax collections are up 6.9% for the state.
• Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment for Tennessee exceeded the 2.8 million level in August, gaining 0.2% from the previous month. Over the year, nonfarm employment grew 2.1%. Including just private-sector establishments, employment rose a more robust 2.6% over the year.
• Unemployment rate for Tennessee rose again in August, climbing to 7.4% compared with 6.1% for the United States.
• Average weekly hours for Tennessee increased slightly in August to 35.3, equaling the average for the year to date.
• Average hourly earnings for Tennessee rose $0.10 in August to $20.80. Earnings per hour have exhibited little net change since January.

Graphs: Search by MSA at Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery

Economic Indicators for July for State and MSAs

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

• Seasonally adjusted initial claims for Tennessee declined in July, falling to 4,608 claims per week, nearly equaling the trend. Initial claims continue to decline as new layoffs become less and less of a problem. 
• Permits issued for single-family home construction for Tennessee posted a substantial gain in July, rising 6.6% from June. The less volatile trend also increased in July. Over the year, single-family home permits are up 4.4% while total permits (single-family plus multi-family) are down 13% higher over the year, showing how the figures can be volatile.
• State sales tax collections experienced a moderate rise in July, up 0.3% from June after seasonal adjustment. Over the year, state sales tax collections are up 3.2% for Tennessee. 
• Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment for Tennessee was little changed again in July, hovering around the 2.8 million level. Over the year, nonfarm employment is 1.9% higher, rising to 2.7% when government is not included.
• Unemployment rate for Tennessee rose sharply in July, gaining 0.5 points from June. The current level of 7.1% returns the unemployment rate to about the same level as in January. The large decline in employment (from the household survey) is inconsistent with declining initial claims and modestly rising nonfarm employment.
• Average weekly hours for Tennessee fell slightly to 35.2 hours. Hours worked have tended to fluctuate in a narrow band over the past year with no obvious trend.
• Average hourly earnings for Tennessee fell $0.20 in July to $20.70. Following a large rise in 2013, hourly earnings have drifted lower this year. 

Graphs: Search by MSA at Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery

Tennessee Housing Market: 2nd Quarter 2014

http://capone.mtsu.edu/berc/housingbrief.html 

The state housing market improved, with construction and prices particularly strong in the Nashville MSA. [more]

Tennessee Housing Market 3rd Quarter 2013

http://capone.mtsu.edu/berc/housingbrief.html 

The housing market improved but at a slower pace.... [more]

Construction Data

http://capone.mtsu.edu/berc/tacir/tacir.html 

Permits issued for single-family home construction in Tennessee fell in August after seasonal adjustments following a gain for July. Permits have fluctuated higher and lower during the past 12 months, but the trend continues to improve. Single-family construction permits are 16.0% higher over the year, while total permits (single-family plus multi-family) are 2.2% higher.

Updated Economic Indicators

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

• Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment for Tennessee dropped sharply in June due mostly to a loss of government jobs. Nonfarm employment declined 0.6%, the largest one-month decline since 2009, losing 16,500 jobs. Most of the lost jobs occurred in local government and federal government due to federal budget sequester cutbacks. Over the year, the job growth rate fell to 1.2% after seasonal adjustments. Excluding government employment, the private sector nonfarm employment growth rate is 2.1% over the year. 
• Unemployment rate for Tennessee rose to 8.5% in June as the number unemployed rose for the sixth consecutive month while employment, as measured by the household survey, continued to decline.
• State sales tax collections fell sharply in June following a very large unsustainable increase in May. State sales tax collections are just 1.2% higher over the year. 
• Seasonally adjusted initial claims for Tennessee declined in June to 5,477 following three months of increases. The less-volatile trend is little changed. Claims remain very low compared with the past five years. [
• Permits issued for single-family home construction in Tennessee increased greatly in May, rising to 1,574 units from 1,341 in April. The May figure is the most number of permits issued since September 2008. The less volatile also gained, rising to 1,375 units.

Graphs: Search by MSA at Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery

Tennessee Housing Market 1st Quarter 2013

http://capone.mtsu.edu/berc/housingbrief.html 

Job creation accelerated in the 1st quarter, but the housing market did not....

[Download pdf]    [See Flash page-flip view]

Updated Economic Indicators

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

• Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment for TN gained 58,400 jobs over the year in Feb., up 2.2%. Private-sector growth was substantially higher at 2.7%. Newly revised figures show strong job growth over the year for Cleveland MSA (up 5.0%) and Nashville MSA (up 3.9%). 
• TN unemployment rate for Feb. 2013 ticked up slightly to 7.8%, showing little change over the past 5 months.
• Seasonally adjusted initial claims for TN rose somewhat in March to 5,247 weekly claims from 5,210 in Feb. The less volatile trend continued to fall. Initial claims remain extremely low based on the experience since 1990.
• Permits issued for single-family home construction in TN fell in Feb. to 1,181 units following a strong Jan. Single-family permits have been volatile over the past 6 months. The less volatile trend is virtually unchanged from Jan.

Graphs: Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery | MSA

Housing Construction

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

Permits issued for single-family home construction in Tennessee climbed to 1,491 units in January, the highest since September 2008. The trend also improved. Eight of the state's 10 MSAs show over the-year increases in single-family home construction.

Graphs: Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery 

Home Construction Update

mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

Permits issued for single-family home construction in Tennessee fell to 1,339 after seasonal adjustment from 1,493 in October. The less volatile trend continued to increase, however, producing the seventh consecutive gain dating back to last spring. Seven of the 10 metro areas in Tennessee still show gains over the year.

[Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery]

October Building Permits

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

New from BERC director David Penn at Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery:

• Seasonally adjusted permits issued for single-family home construction jumped to 1,493 for Tennessee in October, the highest level in four years (since September 2008). Most metropolitan areas in Tennessee experienced significant increases.

View graphs and tables:  http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir

Tennessee Housing Market

http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/housingbrief.html 

Housing and manufacturing are leading Tennessee's economy. Single-family home construction is rising but from very low levels. Home sales are gaining in 2 of the 3 largest metro markets. Price stability has reached 6 of the 10 metro areas. [3rd Quarter 2012 report]

Building Permits Update

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

The trend for single-family home construction for Tennessee rose gently in August, the fourth consecutive increase. Among the state's 10 metropolitan areas (MSAs), trend single-family permits are unchanged in five, falling in three, and rising in two (Cleveland and Nashville).

Tennessee Housing Market 2nd Quarter 2012

http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/housingbrief.html 

On balance, the Tennessee housing market showed very modest improvement in the second quarter, following a stronger first quarter. Housing construction continued to grow, rebounding mildly from very low levels, but real estate transactions and mortgage activity fell. Home sales rose in Nashville but not in Memphis or Knoxville. Mortgage delinquency rates fell again, continuing a long trend of improvement. . . . [newsletter]

Is Single-Family Home Construction Improving?

www.mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

Perhaps, but it depends on where you are. Housing construction activity for Tennessee is trending lower, with lower activity also occurring in the Clarksville, Cleveland, and Nashville MSAs. Knoxville and Memphis MSAs are flat, while the trend is improving in Chattanooga, Jackson, Johnson City, Kingsport-Bristol, and Morristown MSAs.

• Single-Family Permits graphs, downloadable tables
• Housing Price Index

Tennessee Housing Market

http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/housingbrief.html 

1st Quarter 2012 newsletter online - Home sales rose significantly in the Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville areas during the quarter, and average home prices fell again, though at a slower pace. [more at Tennessee Housing Market]

Construction Employment

http://southpoint.frbatlanta.org

What's the story behind Tennessee's strong construction employment data?

In an April 17 blog post, the Atlanta Fed quotes BERC director David Penn on the state's apparent "mini-boom" in construction employment.