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Chattanooga among most economically vulnerable cities to coronavirus; unemployment may rise to 29%

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Downtown Chattanooga is seen in this view looking south along Broad Street from a parking garage. RiverCity Co. is hiring consultants to help study ways to energize the riverfront from Fourth Street to the River, including Hawk Hill. The area was photographed on December 5, 2019.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Downtown Chattanooga is seen in this view looking south along Broad Street from a parking garage. RiverCity Co. is hiring consultants to help study ways to energize the riverfront from Fourth Street to the River, including Hawk Hill. The area was photographed on December 5, 2019. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Downtown Chattanooga is seen in this view looking south along Broad Street from a parking garage. RiverCity Co. is hiring consultants to help study ways to energize the riverfront from Fourth Street to the River, including Hawk Hill. The area was photographed on December 5, 2019.

By Dave Flessner 5 min read

Over the past four decades as Chattanooga has revitalized its riverfront and downtown, the Scenic City of the South has grown its dining, entertainment, cultural and tourism attractions and going into 2020 was expected to be one of the top mid-size markets for hiring more workers.

But the business shutdowns ordered to limit the spread of the coronavirus and the consumer fears bred by the COVID-19 virus have quickly sickened the outlook for the local economy.

While the city’s transformation has helped draw millions of visitors and billions of dollars of new investment, Chattanooga is now among the most economically sensitive metropolitan areas in America for the coronavirus, according to new studies by a pair of online personal finance websites.

MoneyGeek predicts unemployment in metro Chattanooga will rise to 29% with 80,000 persons losing their jobs – more than triple the job losses during the Great Recession of 2008-2009 when 26,455 Chattanoogans were unemployed.

“This downturn has such historically high numbers because so much of the service industry is being shut down or affected by the coronavirus,” said Hillary Adler, director of content marketing for MoneyGeek.