The average jobs growth for regions the size of the Memphis between 2007-2017 was 9.1%.
Jobs growth for the Memphis region was 0.4% with jobs increasing from 642,500 to 645,300.
Jobs Growth – Percentage of growth and number of jobs:
31.9% – Austin – 783,800 to 1,033,800
23.2% – Nashville – 800,500 to 986,600
12.1% – Atlanta – 2,463,100 to 2,762,100
10.4% – Louisville – 613,400 to 677,100
10.0% – Oklahoma City – 580,600 to 638,700
9.7% – Jacksonville – 628,400 to 689,300
7.4% – Kansas City – 1,009,900 to 1,084,700
7.1% – New Orleans – 537,900 to 576,300
6.7% – Baltimore – 1,322,300 to 1,410,660
6.0% – Knoxville – 373,700 to 396,200
4.9% – Chattanooga – 247,500 to 259,700
3.8% – Detroit – 1,945,000 to 2,018,700
3.2% – Jackson, MS – 271,800 to 280,500
2.4% – Little Rock – 348,300 to 356,500
1.8% – St. Louis – 1,357,300 to 1,381,800
0.4% – Memphis – 642,500 to 645,300
0.1% – Cleveland – 1,069,100 to 1,069,800
– 1.8% – Birmingham – 534,800 to 525,200
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Wow, just look at Nashville and Austin.
This shows just how anemically weak the Memphis economy really is.
Sad.
Depressing!
It is indeed sad. I have watched the local economy for 40 years.
I understood the stagnation of theb1970s. No one would come to the city where Dr. King was killed. But today is difficult to explain. We have several great companies here, but they are no longer expanding. New companies seem to be small and that doesn’t help the employment picture. Finally, neither the government nor the Chamber seems very innovative when it comes to economic development.
David:
We are really concerned now. You always have an insight that explains things to us. The economic development folks seem stuck on the same old mantra and tools. What would an innovative ED program look like? Or is that the question we should, as a community, be answering?
These stats cover the last 10 years and they are sad and disturbing because the situation probably cannot be improved by any type economic development program.
Economic development, like everything else in Memphis, is massively behind every other city. All this city’s business and government leaders have ever been able to come up with are “copycat” initiatives that go absolutely nowhere.
With a shrinking population and economic stats like these it’s a lot like the 1970s in Memphis all over again.
Haven’t those other regions also had population increases?
Do we want to get bigger for bigger’s sake, or improve our local unemployment and pay rates without a lot of people moving here?
If we get 50,000 jobs and 150,000 people is that good?
The job growth numbers for Memphis are simply dismal and about 10% behind the average. Also very bad are the numbers showing how the population of Memphis is just not growing.
The number that stands out to me is Detroit’s growth. Not long ago they were in terrible shape. We need a sense of urgency and a willingness to take more risks. The Fairgrounds development exemplifies a lack of willingness to innovate.
Well, our major sectors just are not growing. Interestingly, the unemployment rate for the Memphis area is quite good. It was (annual average) 5.1% before the Great Recession. It rose to 10.0% in both 2009 and 2010. It was 3.5% in September of 2017. So, the labor force here is employed. Two things: (1) the labor force has not grown over the past decade. It was 627,000 in 2007, fell to 617,000 in 2009, rose dramatically in the next couple of years and then sits at 624,000 for 2016 and 630,000 for September 2017, and (2) I believe that the wage structure here is just too weak to draw people here.
What are the reasons? The big one is that our big sectors are just plain moribund. Trade, transportation and utilities moved from 176,000 workers in 2007 to 159,000 in 2010 to 174,000 in 2017. This collection of data is supposed to represent our two most dynamic sectors — retail trade and FedEx. And nothing is happening. Leisure and hospitality was 73,000 in 2007 — 67,000 in 2016. Government was 86,000 in 2007 — 80,000 in 2016. The bright spot was education and health services — it moved from 80,000 in 2007 — to 91,000 in 2016. And 2017 sees continued growth, maybe. Nationally, we are thinking of cutting back on support for education and health — after all, they are mostly government provided services — so the growth may not last.
That is my two cents worth for Monday morning.
I’m also dismayed at the lack of growth at our airport. MEM was de-hubbed by Delta almost 4 years ago. Since then number of flights has risen to only about 80 total flights per day on all of the airlines serving the city.
The airlines carefully monitor the economics and growth potential of every city they serve so the level of flights here is a reflection of how they view the economic potential of Memphis. It’s not good news.
Our airport authority has been unsuccessful in growing air service here. We have only one nonstop flight per day to the entire west coast. Air travel to almost anywhere requires time consuming connections which business travelers hate. And yet we are spending tens of millions of dollars to renovate the outdated terminal.
An airport is a great barometer of the health and vibrancy of any city, and ours is pretty much in line with the anemic jobs numbers for Memphis.