Chattanooga’s growing signs
Confidence up: More than 80 percent of business respondents to a SunTrust Bank survey say their businesses are strong and they are confident about their company’s finances. Employment up: In the 12 months ending in February 2016, metropolitan Chattanooga added 8,600 jobs to push the employment total above 250,000 jobs for the first time ever. Vehicle sales up: Hamilton County sales of new cars were up 2.4 percent and new truck sales were up 13 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to a year ago. Overall, new vehicle sales totaled 3,224 in the first three months of the year, up 8.7 percent from last year. Foreclosures down: The number of property foreclosures in the first three months of 2016 in Hamilton County was down 17.6 percent from a year ago. The 150 property foreclosures in the first quarter in Hamilton County was the lowest total in nearly two decades. Bankruptcies down: The number of bankruptcy filings in federal court in Chattanooga during the first quarter declined slightly from 1,349 last year to 1 342 this year Sources: SunTrust Business Pulse Survey, Hamilton County Clerk’s Office and Register of Deeds, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Eastern Tennessee, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Chattanooga business owners are as optimistic about 2016 as they have been in any year in nearly a decade with employment and business sales continuing to rise while bankruptcy filings and property foreclosures decline.
A new Business Pulse Survey by SunTrust Bank found more than four of every five businesses rate their business as strong and a growing share are exploring new products, new markets or possible merger activity.
“Overall, the leaders of the businesses surveyed are very optimistic with more than 80 percent saying that their business is stronger today than a year ago,” said Jim “JV” Vaughn, market president in Chattanooga for SunTrust Banks Inc. “I think most businesses are as optimistic about this year as any time since before the Great Recession [in 2009-2010].”
Thirty-six percent of middle market companies with annual revenues of $10-$150 million said they are exploring mergers and acquisitions, up from 25 percent in 2015. Among small businesses with annual revenues of $2-$10 million, 41 percent said they plan to introduce a new product or service, up from 31 percent a year ago.