Five trends that will shape Chattanooga's economy in 2016

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Five trends to watch

Five trends that will shape Chattanooga’s economy in the new year:› Automotive sector shifts into high gear as VW adds second vehicle line› Employers face new labor pains to fill more and higher skilled jobs› After decades of moving out, more Chattanoogans are calling downtown home› East Ridge bets big on building new retail base at Exit 1 on I-75› Road, rail, water and air transportation upgrades move ahead to clear transportation bottlenecks

What's ahead for 2016?

Chattanooga has enjoyed healthy growth over the last half-decade, and is now nearly 4 percent larger by population (with 174,000 residents currently) than it was in 2010; in the last five years, Chattanooga has outpaced Knoxville (population 184,000) in annual population growth.

In part, it's because Chattanooga has The Gig. Volkswagen. Amazon. Two major, national long-haul trucking companies. And the Tennessee River. Not to mention a growing hipster scene and a reputation as both a town for outdoor enthusiasts and for those looking to retire.

And in a state that relies heavily on its tourism industry, Chattanooga has also shaped and molded itself - ever increasingly in recent years - into a billion-dollar-a-year tourist destination.

What should we now expect for the year ahead?

In 2016, Volkswagen plans to double down on its investment in Chattanooga even as a global emissions scandal is forcing the German car maker to trim operations elsewhere. The addition of a second vehicle line in Chattanooga is projected to spur up to 9,800 direct and indirect jobs in the region and help quicken the overall pace of job growth nearly four fold in the next five years.

Those new jobs are shifting the labor market and making it harder for employers needing to hire more and higher-skilled workers. Such growth is also leading to new infrastructure investments on roads, rail, rivers and air service. More people are moving downtown, but Chattanooga's biggest suburban city, East Ridge, is betting big on building a new retail magnet on Interstate 75 on the southern entrance to Tennessee.

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