Updated Economic Indicators

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

• Permits issued for single-family home construction for Tennessee rose 3.2% in February after seasonal adjustments. The less-volatile trend continued to decline, however, falling for the sixth consecutive month beginning August 2013. Over the year, single-family construction is up 10%. Multi-family construction continues to rise, causing total permits to climb 27% from the previous year.
• Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment for Tennessee rose 0.2% in February, up nearly 7,000 jobs from January.  The rate growth of job creation in the private sector remained at 2.1% over the year.
• Unemployment rate for Tennessee fell sharply to 6.9% in February from 7.2% in the previous month, closing in on the U.S. unemployment rate of 6.7%.  Rising employment and a steady labor force caused the decline in the unemployment rate.

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

Updated Economic Indicators

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

• Seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims for Tennessee climbed to 5,603 per week in February compared with 5,193 for January. The less-volatile trend also rose. Unseasonably cold weather in February may explain some of the increase.
• Permits issued for single-family home construction for Tennessee fell 4% from January after seasonal adjustments. Of greater concern is the weakening of construction activity as measured by the less-volatile trend, down for the fifth consecutive month. Over the year, single-family construction is down 7.8%. Multi-family construction continues to surge higher, causing total permits to rise 52% from the previous year.
• State sales tax collections fell 1.7% in February from the previous month after seasonal adjustments, the second consecutive monthly decline. Over the year, collections are just 1.1% higher.
• Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment for Tennessee in January is slightly lower than the previous month and just 1.4% higher over the year. Slower job growth is consistent with rising layoffs and sales tax collections noted above.
• Unemployment rate for Tennessee fell to 7.2% in January from 7.7% in the previous month. The decrease was due to higher employment according to the household survey measure.

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

Updated Economic Indicators

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

• Permits issued for single-family home construction for Tennessee were virtually unchanged in December after seasonal adjustments. The trend shows a slight decline in activity from a peak last August. 
• Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment for Tennessee was virtually unchanged in December, down 900 jobs from November. Over the year, nonfarm employment is 31,400 higher, a gain of 1.1%.
• Unemployment rate for Tennessee dropped to 7.8% in December from 8.1% in the previous month. The decrease was largely due to a decline in the labor force, indicating that fewer people are searching for work.
• State sales tax collections rose 0.5% in December from the previous month after seasonal adjustments. Collections are 2.6% higher over the year.
• Seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims for Tennessee increased in December to 5,281 from 4,807 per week in November, the second consecutive increase. The less-volatile trend continued to decline and remain less than 5,000 per week.

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

Updated Economic Indicators

http://mtsu.edu/berc/tacir 

• Permits issued for single-family home construction for Tennessee declined in November to 1,314 following a very strong October. The less volatile trend shows little change and has been level since August. Over the year, single-family permits are 2.8% higher, but total permits (including multi-family permits) are down 1.9%.
• Seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment for Tennessee rose sharply in November by 0.3%, a gain of 9,400 from October. Over the year, nonfarm employment is 39,000 higher.
• Unemployment rate for Tennessee fell to 8.1% in November, the lowest level since April. Total employment fell 1,800 from October, but the number of persons unemployed fell nearly 12,000.
• State sales tax collections climbed 1.4% from October after seasonal adjustments. Collections are 4.0% higher over the year.
• Seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims for Tennessee rose in November to 4,807 from 4,642 per week in October, while the less-volatile trend continued to decline. Initial claims remain at very low levels.

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

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

Housing Permits

Permits issued for single-family home construction in Tennessee rose sharply in April, climbing to 1,241 units after seasonal adjustment. The April increase follows two months of declining activity. The less volatile trend dropped slightly to 1,238 units. [Tracking Tennessee's Economic Recovery]

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).