Where jobs are being added

[JMT]

I think another issue with the Tri Cities is that the 3 major cities historically haven't worked together to lure industries to the area. While the population of the Tri Cities area is pretty much identical to the Chattanooga area, the Chattanooga area isn't splintered into feuding little fiefdoms. Pretty much everyone in the Chattanooga area works to make Chattanooga a better place. "Chattanooga" is an identity, almost a trademark that they want to protect and promote.

The Tri Cities, on the other hand, is divided, and the three cities (Bristol, Johnson City, and Kingsport) do not have a history of cooperating. Rather than looking for what's good for the entire Tri Cities region, they look for what's good for their individual cities. I can't help but believe that this has had a negative impact on the prosperity of the Tri Cities region.

[BP72]

Here lately the biggest fight seems to be which new Shopping Mall development gets what major retailers. Then you got a Sheriff suing a Mayor over the budget. All kinds of infighting as you pointed out JMT... even within the cities themselves much less between the 3. As pointed out somewhere else, it seems that to higher than local politicians, East Tenn. stops at Knoxville. So the Tri Cities area get forgotten about and left to its own accords.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by BP72

"Tri Cities area loses more jobs in first quarter"

Job growth wasn’t in the region’s employment picture during this year’s first quarter, according to a Tri-Cities Labor Market Report released Tuesday.
“The economic outlook has become more uncertain — still dominated by the political paralysis in the nation’s capital,” said an analysis of the report compiled by the East Tennessee State University Bureau of Business and Economic Research. “The (Tri-Cities) region has seen four quarters of job losses which have wiped out part of the strong job gains from 2010 and 2011. The slowdown in national employment growth means that the Tri-Cities area cannot look for a (jobs) boost any time soon from this direction.”


More at ... Tri-Cities area loses more jobs in first quarter | Kingsport Times-News

It's depressing but not shocking at all. If you read the report, the gains are mostly in the education (teachers, administrators, support staff), leisure/hospitality (tourism, food service workers, hotels, etc) and health care sectors, further reinforcing my belief that the engine of the area is the bloated school payrolls that is essentially employing people who otherwise wouldn't have a job in the private sector, a disproportionately large health care sector, and low paid food service workers.

Fortunately, the local newspapers are running this story on their websites. As of now, WJHL/WCYB have no mention of this sobering, serious story, and instead are running front page news on how to stay safe in grilling season. I would think four consecutive quarters of net job losses would be newsworthy, but it apparently isn't to these stations, which seem to have an agenda in maintaining the status quo.

Not only is the Tri-Cities experiencing a net loss of jobs, the quality of jobs it has is probably the worst of all the TN metros. When the local news outlets run a story about job creation, most of the time it's for a call center expansion, new call center, or some other sort of low value business process outsourcing. Other areas of TN are getting automotive plants, higher end manufacturing, more white collar and knowledge oriented jobs, etc - the Tri-Cities is a dumping ground for low value outsourced work.

The Tri-Cities is also not positioning itself for well-paying jobs in the future. Municipal expenditures for a Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop, and YMCA/aquatic center are likely well over $50 million by this point between the Kingsport and Bristol governments. In the future, taxes are going to have go up substantially to pay back all this debt. These ventures are going to generate almost exclusively low paying customer service positions. Sadly, at least Kingsport voters seem to want to double down on running the city into the ditch, as they voted to reelect the mayor and most of the BMA yesterday.

It really boggles my mind how people can talk positively about anything but the natural beauty and weather of the Tri-Cities. The area's job market and the local governments are a complete basket case and the citizenry is more concerned about guns and social issues than jobs and seemingly wants to double down on the failing local government strategies.

Originally Posted by BP72

I think (and I could be wrong) it is with the uncertainty of policies or what have you in government. We heard from the Eastman Rep. during a Co-Op briefing that the reason they are not taking as many people in the Co-Op program is that people are scared to retire with not knowing how things will play out in the future. So it is stagnating jobs right there.

I am looking through a narrow scope of trying to get a welding job now (I have graduated now). What I see locally in that field is not good at all. Is it because of The Feds or Local Gov.? I really don't know. I do know lots jobs in general have left and not really being replaced. Whatever the cause.. what is the fix? Put pressure on the Local Gov.? State Gov.?

This area is not heavily dependent on jobs from the federal government or government contractors, so any concerns beyond the general unease about Obamacare, higher taxes, etc, don't hold water with me.

I know the professor that writes this report and had him and his colleague in the Bureau of Business and Economic Research for many classes when I was in the economics program at ETSU. This report is probably more diplomatic than what you'd hear from them off the record about the local economy.

Again, I think it's a bit of distraction to talk about the impact of the federal government in this area - the problems are mostly a result of dysfunctional local government failing to attract the right types of business and existing businesses and schools failing to adapt to changing macroeconomic trends.

Originally Posted by JMT

I think another issue with the Tri Cities is that the 3 major cities historically haven't worked together to lure industries to the area. While the population of the Tri Cities area is pretty much identical to the Chattanooga area, the Chattanooga area isn't splintered into feuding little fiefdoms. Pretty much everyone in the Chattanooga area works to make Chattanooga a better place. "Chattanooga" is an identity, almost a trademark that they want to protect and promote.

The Tri Cities, on the other hand, is divided, and the three cities (Bristol, Johnson City, and Kingsport) do not have a history of cooperating. Rather than looking for what's good for the entire Tri Cities region, they look for what's good for their individual cities. I can't help but believe that this has had a negative impact on the prosperity of the Tri Cities region.

This is precisely what's going on. The three cities don't cooperate - they compete against each other. People like to talk about the Tri-Cities as a "small town region" but the CSA is half a million people or so. It is not "small." The local governments need to stand together, because divided they're falling.

[jchometeam]

The only thing that I want to say in response is that some people like that it is 3 distinct cities. I certainly prefer that over 1 larger metro area. And I think part of the governments not working together is inherent in the system. If I am an elected official in Johnson City, I am fighting for Johnson City, not Kingsport. And vise versa.

Having said that, there are legit concerns regarding jobs. Its well documented that the tri cities is dependent upon service, education, healthcare, and banking jobs. In some ways that isolates the tri cities from downturns related to plants closing, etc. that the rust belt has experienced. In other ways, it creates an environment where some of our best either have to leave the area or take a lower standard of living in order to live here. Personally, I chose to stay in the area and take less pay than I otherwise could make because i love it so much, the traffic is so much better than most other cities, the politics are to my liking, etc.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by jchometeam

The only thing that I want to say in response is that some people like that it is 3 distinct cities. I certainly prefer that over 1 larger metro area. And I think part of the governments not working together is inherent in the system. If I am an elected official in Johnson City, I am fighting for Johnson City, not Kingsport. And vise versa.

Having said that, there are legit concerns regarding jobs. Its well documented that the tri cities is dependent upon service, education, healthcare, and banking jobs. In some ways that isolates the tri cities from downturns related to plants closing, etc. that the rust belt has experienced. In other ways, it creates an environment where some of our best either have to leave the area or take a lower standard of living in order to live here. Personally, I chose to stay in the area and take less pay than I otherwise could make because i love it so much, the traffic is so much better than most other cities, the politics are to my liking, etc.

There's nothing "wrong" with having three city governments, but due to the close proximity of the cities and their economic interdependence on one another, one city doesn't benefit if another city is falling farther behind. The cities are too small to attract many good jobs, better retail, etc, individually - they have to work together and pull their resources to become competitive with metros of a similar size across the state and nation. As it stands now, the Tri-Cities is not competitive with metros in its class, and as long as each city looks out for its own interests alone, the region will never be able to attract the jobs it needs to become a better place to live.

Oftentimes, it's not about taking a small pay cut to stay in the Tri-Cities - many times the salary reductions are severe, if one can even find a job in their field. When I moved back in December to be closer to aging family, I took an initial salary that was only slightly half of what I made in Iowa (not exactly a high cost of living place itself), and I was making less than $50k there. I know many people in their 20s here that are out of field and cannot get started in a useful field because the jobs are not available. They've had to relocate not because they wanted to, but to survive. That's not even mentioning all of the older residents that have been displaced due to all the plant closings and layoffs over the last several years.

[dreamofmonterey]

Bank of America and Citibank leaving Gray and JC have to do with their offshoring Customer service positions to India, some jobs in Mexico, and some in Harlingen TX.

This was going on in 2007. I no longer am in JC but my neighbors son got his M.S. in accounting and left to find work in Nashville.

Unless you are retired or affiliated with medical, there is very little reason to remain in Tri-Cities. JMO, it is local politics. Years ago people who owned buildings in the old downtown were hoping for new revitalization to that area.
It never happened.

The old downtown is still dilapidated and outdated.
It is unfortunate bcs instead of Walmart and Panera, JC residents would have enjoyed a revitalized downtown near Freiberg's.

But apparently the JC city developers don't care about it, or they get too many perks from chain stores building off I-26 corridor. Its probably the latter.

No matter how many people buy houses in JC, this is not the source of a sustainable business model, or economic improvement.