As the U.S. economy approaches its longest continual economic expansion in the post World War II era, Tennessee is adding new businesses at a record pace and Hamilton County is growing new businesses at the fastest growth pace among the state’s biggest counties.
Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett said Tuesday that 10,709 new entity filings were made across the Volunteer State in the third quarter, up 14.8 percent from a year earlier and the fastest growth in the past decade.
“This record growth shows that Tennessee’s economy is continuing to flourish,” Hargett said in his quarterly update on Tennessee business filings.
Hamilton County recorded 720 new business filings in the three month period ended Sept. 30 – up 13.4 percent over the previous year.
Dr. William Fox, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee, said business starts are a leading economic indicator for next year when the U.S. economic expansion is expected to reach the longest period of sustained growth next spring. Businesses are started when investors feel confident about future economic growth and initial filings are an indicator of future investments and hiring by the new firms, Fox said.