KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — State leaders released a quarterly report that illustrates the health of the state's economy — the TN Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report.
In the report, they said that 21,353 new businesses made their initial filings in the first quarter of 2022. That number was an increase of more than 8% compared to the same quarter last year.
They said 9,454 of those new businesses were registered in the state's four largest counties — Shelby, Davidson, Knox and Hamilton. Knox County saw the largest increase in new filings compared to last year, an increase of 14.2% with 1,366 initial filings.
Since last year, the state saw 77,001 filings for new businesses. The report also says that the number of initial filings tends to change per quarter, with more businesses filing in the first quarter of the year than they tend to at the end of the year.
The report also said that the number of people working in industries other than farming rose by 8,100 jobs. They said that the state's employment levels recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, and its unemployment rate is falling.
The report also says nominal personal income was $382.8 billion in the state during the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 7.4% compared to the previous quarter.
They said the rise in personal income was driven by job growth and increases in the wages that workers were paid.
However, officials also warned that the report could only capture so much of the state's economic health. They warned that economic volatility driven by inflationary forces, the COVID-19 pandemic, and international conflicts could not be fully captured in the state's economic indicators.
The report was prepared by the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee. The center says it uses models to estimate employment security trust fund balances, revenues for state and local governments and caseloads for state-run workforce development programs.
It also analyses state programs, surveys of Tennesseans, economic impact studies and projects on taxing e-commerce and internet use.
