Tennessee's Manufacturing Job Growth Slows

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Tennessee manufacturing employment inched up for a fifth straight year, though at a slower rate than reported in previous years, according to the 2017 Tennessee Manufacturers Register, an industrial database and directory published by Manufacturers' News, Inc. (MNI) Evanston, IL. According to MNI's database of manufacturers, Tennessee added 847 jobs between October 2015 and October 2016, a half percent gain.

Tennessee is home to 6,659 manufacturers employing 385,133. Manufacturing employment in the state has grown by 4% since October of 2011, reports MNI.

"Tennessee's solid infrastructure, workforce, business costs, and incentive programs continue to be a draw for a variety of manufacturers, particularly in the transportation equipment sector," says Tom Dubin, President of the Evanston, IL-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. "However, job growth has slowed due to a strong dollar and global competition, and many of Tennessee's neighbors offer similar site selection advantages."

Manufacturing job gains in Tennessee were led by the transportation equipment industry, which added 1,617 jobs or 3.2% over the year, and ranks first in the state for industrial jobs, employing 52,618. Job gains in the sector have outpaced Tennessee's overall growth, increasing by 32% or 12,600 positions over the past five years.

For the full report on Tennessee manufacturing, including a regional analysis, click here or visit http://www.mni.net/news/

The fabricated metals industry ranks as Tennessee's second-largest by manufacturing employment, with 40,372 workers, up 1.6%, while Tennessee's third-ranked fabricated metals industry accounts for 40,236 jobs, down 2.3%.

MNI's database recorded employment increases in a few other sub-sectors, including food products, up 3.6%, and primary metals, which rose 1%, and job levels in most other sectors remained steady over the year.

Industries shedding jobs included textiles/apparel, down 3.2%; furniture/fixtures, also down 3.2%; and printing/publishing, down 1.8%.

City data collected by MNI shows Memphis increased its industrial employment by 2.7% over the past year, and ranks first in the state for factory employment with 33,514 jobs. Second-ranked Nashville also gained industrial jobs, up 3.5% to 27,065.