NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The future of Tennessee’s economy is the focus of a new report from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville’s Boyd Center, which was sent to the governor.
The 2026 Economic Report to the Governor of the State of Tennessee said the Volunteer State’s economy continued to expand this year “despite certain challenges stemming from slower job growth and federal policy changes,” a press release from the center said.
Read the full report here
“For this year’s report, we’re projecting slower — but still positive — economic growth going forward,” Larry Kessler, Research Associate Professor at the Boyd Center and Project Director, said. “For our forecast, we’re really trying to balance a number of elevated downside risks in the economy with a couple areas of strength.”
Kessler told News 2 the labor market and job growth have slowed materially over the last year and a half, and consumer confidence across the U.S. is near an all-time low thanks to policy uncertainty, affordability issues and tariffs, which have caused certain prices to rise as they continue to work their way through the economy…