Knoxville economy projected to grow despite predicted recession
The Knoxville Extended Metropolitan Area ranked 40th among midsize cities with a projected 2023 GDP of $73 billion with 0.3 percent growth.
In a time when the threat of a recession looms above us, Knoxville still manages to thrive.
The University of North Carolina’s Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise released its 2023 projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the Top 100 Midsize Cities in the U.S. as part of its American Growth Project initiative.
The Knoxville Extended Metropolitan Area (EMA) ranked 40th with a projected 2023 GDP of $73 billion with 0.3 percent growth. This GDP growth is down from the 1.9 percent GDP growth in 2022. In fact, all 100 EMAs on their list show lower growth as the researchers factored in an expected recession in late 2023 or early 2024. The real news here is the positive GDP growth despite the impending recession.
The Knoxville EMA includes the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), Morristown MSA, Newport Micro, and the Sevierville Micro area.
This information comes in the March 2023 edition of the Knoxville Chamber’s Economic Conditions Outlook (ECO), financed by First Horizon Bank.
The ECO report shows the Knoxville MSA’s unemployment rate in February was 3.3 percent (unchanged from January and up from the 2.8 percent rate in February 2022). Knox County’s unemployment rate in February was 2.9 percent (down from 3 percent in January and up from 2.5 percent in February 2022).
The size of the total labor force slightly increased from January to February at the local, state, and national levels.
New business licenses issued in February 2023 by Knox County are down 6.6 percent from February 2022 and are down 14.7 percent from the pre-pandemic February 2019 count.
A total of 214 new business licenses were issued in February 2023 compared to 229 in February 2022 and 251 in February 2019. The top industry sectors for which business licenses were issued in February 2023 were services, retail, construction, and non-classified establishments.
Get all the details from the ECO report including local housing market information, inflation rates, labor market statistics, and more here.
