KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A research hub in the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee asked business leaders across the state how they expected the national and state economies to change over the coming year.
The Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research conducted the Tennessee Business Leaders Survey, collecting responses between Aug. 1 and Aug. 23. Around 14% of respondents worked in manufacturing, around 9% worked in the financial industry and another 9% worked in professional services.
The survey collected around 1% of respondents each from the entertainment, insurance and agriculture industries in Tennessee.
Across all regions and especially in East Tennessee, respondents said they believed current business conditions in the U.S. were about the same now as they were last year. However, they said they expected the national economy to get "a little worse" over the next year.
Yet, they expected economic conditions in the state to get "a little better" in Tennessee over the coming year. According to the survey, "business investment in Tennessee" was the common reason for people to pick their answers. Business leaders said they mostly believed Tennessee was headed in the "right direction" in the survey.
Overall and in East Tennessee, respondents said they believed the state should prioritize measures to enhance workforce development and develop the state's roads, bridges and technology to improve its business climate. In total, business leaders across Tennessee also said they expected revenues to grow moderately.
However, almost an equal amount of respondents in West Tennessee expected revenues to stay the same. Leaders in West Tennessee were mostly split on whether they expected profitability compared to 2022 to decrease moderately or increase moderately. Overall across the state, respondents expected profitability to grow.
East Tennessee and West Tennessee leaders expected employment to stay around the same compared to 2022, while Middle Tennessee leaders expected employment to grow moderately.
Overall, leaders said there is not an "ample supply" of local workers who are trained for their needs. "Work ethic" and "initiative" were the leading attributes that business leaders in Tennessee said were lacking among workers, along with a "realistic" idea about compensation.
"Technical skills" ranked fourth overall on the list of attributes business leaders said were missing from workers. Around 51% of respondents said their business struggles to attract or retain workers. They said the cost of housing was the leading reason behind not being able to attract workers, followed by housing availability.