Economic growth in Tennessee will continue yet begin to lose momentum in 2019, according to a new report by the University of Tennessee’s Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research.
The report is signaling a potential slow down in the near future, pointing to changes in labor markets and rising interest rates.
The Tennessee economy grew by 2.7 percent in 2018 but is expected to slow to 1.9 percent growth in the next two years. Economist Matthew Murray, associate director and project director for the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research, said this shift should have little impact on the wallet.
Unemployment is also expected to stay relatively low according to data analysis, yet will gradually rise above 4 percent by 2020. Murray said less skilled workers will be most affected by this.
Murray predicts next year’s economic gains in Tennessee to look much like this year’s, pending any unforeseen shock in the economy or dramatic policy shifts in the incoming Gov. Bill Lee administration.
Economists predict around 43,000 new jobs will come to Tennessee in 2019 and the state’s gross domestic product to increase 2.6 percent over the next year.