Data shows that the local economy continues to recover, after the devastating 2006-2010 Recession when 1 out of every 11 private-sector jobs in Shelby County was lost.
TheMemphisEconomy.com, a collaboration between EDGE and the Sparks Bureau of Business & Economic Research at the University of Memphis, tracks sixteen key economic variables and compares the Memphis MSA to 15 peer communities. It shows that unemployment has hit its lowest level since 2007 and that other metrics are also moving in the right direction, including the following results over the most recent 12-month period:
- Jobs increased by 2.24%.
- Per capita income (2.92%), median household income (2.65%), and annual median wages (2.53%) are all up.
- Gross metropolitan product, the value of all goods and services produced in the local economy, was up 3.1%.
This data correlates to other indicators of present or future economic activity. For example, Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Advisors are tracking 245 projects in the area totaling an estimated $10.9 billion, while in 2017 EDGE approved 18 PILOT projects, the most since 2005.