Boyd Center survey shows many business leaders struggling to attract and/or retain workers
Half of the state business leaders who responded to the survey expressed confidence that there won’t be a recession in the coming year.
Tennessee business leaders are more concerned with filling job openings than recession or inflation, according to the winter 2024 Tennessee Business Leaders Survey conducted last month by the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Half of the state business leaders who responded to the survey expressed confidence that there won’t be a recession in the coming year. Last year, four out of five respondents put the likelihood of a recession at 25 percent or higher.
Employers said they are still feeling the effects of inflation, but not as strongly as they did a year ago. More than 95 percent of respondents felt Tennessee’s economy is equal to or better than the U.S. economy, and they attributed this strength most often to business investment (47 percent) and state government leadership (26 percent).
“The state has prioritized making Tennessee a friendly place to do business, and these survey responses seem to echo that effort,” said Don Bruce, Director of the Boyd Center. “Business leaders are leveraging the state’s quality of life and cost of living to attract and retain the skilled workers they need.”
About 80 percent of business leaders in East Tennessee said there is not an adequate supply of local workers who are appropriately trained to meet their business needs. Additionally, about half of business leaders say they struggle to attract/ retain qualified employees. Many cited housing cost (42 percent) or availability (28 percent) as a cause. About a quarter also noted the cost and availability of childcare services.
The Boyd Center gathered about 50 survey respondents and government officials for a dinner in Nashville last month to discuss the state’s economy, and the sentiments shared in that room mirrored those of the survey. Despite optimism about Tennessee’s livability and business climate, a shortage of appropriately trained workers and those with necessary soft skills was a recurring subject of conversation.
