Tennessee employers overwhelmly agree that federal tax cuts and inflation control would be more useful for their companies than enhanced tariffs or immigration control, according to a new study by Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at Tennessee University, Knoxville.
The survey of winter business executives 2024 Tennesses, administered in January 2025, urged business leaders to prioritize possible policy changes with the new presidential administration. Four of the five business executives mentioned the renovation of the 2017 federal tax reduction, both individual and corporate, or continuous progress in controlling inflation through the monetary policy of the federal reserve as their main priority. Less than 10% said expanded immigration control or more fees for imported goods would be useful for the success of their companies.
The view of the recession continued to be facilitated, with 58% of business leaders who predict that the possibility of recession is less than 50% this year. In comparison, when this question was first asked in the summer survey 2022, only 16% had similar feelings. At the opposite end of the spectrum, only 5% of business executives this year have a fear raised by the recession (greater than 50%), compared to over half of the respondents in 2022.
“Although the recession concerns are significantly lower than they were nearly three years ago, inflation is still a major concern,” said Don Bruce, director of the Boyd Center. “Tennessee business leaders have made it clear that they hope the president can adopt policies that provide relief.”
Business executives continue to see a rarer economy in Tennesses, with three of the four respondents waiting for the state economy to overcome the national economy in the coming year. Approximately two -thirds also believe that the state business climate can improve more if the tenure prioritizes the development of enlarged workforce and technological infrastructure. In West Tennessee, about 65% of business leaders also favored many business development incentives.
The main challenges cited by Tennesses business leaders include unfavorable economic conditions (39%) and government regulations (37%). One quarter of respondents also cited global political instability, supply chain issues, health care costs and human resources. Business executives were more likely to worry about foreign competition in East Tennessee, US Trade Agreements in West Tennessee, and medium tenure taxation.
Two -thirds of business leaders said there is an inadequate supplyTrained workers and almost half of respondents said their job applicants lack technical skills, work ethics, expectations and realistic compensation initiatives. In West Tennessee, 85 percent of business leaders cited work ethic as the largest attribute missing. Nearly two -thirds of the respondents said the tenure should improve training and education opportunities to increase the supply of workers.
Approximately half of the survey respondents said they have problems withdrawing and maintaining workers, and the cost of housing was the most quoted reason in both East Tennessee (50%) and middle tension (55%). West Tennessee respondents were more likely to quote the quality of local schools (40%). Approximately one in three business leaders across the state also mentioned the cost of childcare as a reason.
The full set of survey answers is available on the Boyd Center website.
Boyd Center, located at UT Haslam Business College, conducted a survey between January 8 and 31, gathering answers from business leaders throughout the tenses. Respondents represented a wide sample of businesses in all industries, starting in size from less than 50 employees to more than 5,000.
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Contact in the media:
Stacy Estep (865-974-8304, sestep3@utk.edu)
Erin Hatfield (865-974-6086, ehatfie1@utk.edu)