MTSU survey: TN business leaders’ sentiment reaches three-year high

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Tennessee business leaders have a much more favorable view of economic conditions heading into fall and winter, according to results from the latest Tennessee Business Barometer Survey by MTSU’s Jones College of Business.

The latest statewide index, which measures business leaders’ perceptions of the current and future economy, produced a score of 476, up 33 points from the spring survey. The inaugural survey in July 2015 registered an index of 325.

Conducted in partnership with the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Tennessee Business Barometer is an online opinion survey that now tracks an overall index and three sub-indices: 1.) current outlook, 2.) future outlook, and 3.) business/firm performance.

Dr. Michael Peasley, assistant marketing professor, director of the Office of Consumer Research (MTSU photo) — Dr. Michael Peasley

Index scores are calculated from the percentages of positive and negative responses to more than a dozen questions about perceptions of the economy.

“Business sentiment continues to improve, now at a three-year high of 42%. That’s in contrast to Tennessee consumers, whose positive sentiment is only at 17%,” noted Michael Peasley, assistant professor of marketing and director of the Jones College’s Office of Consumer Research, which oversees the index. “Tennessee business leaders appear to be more positive and more optimistic about the current and future health of the economy.”

This fever chart shows the Tennessee Business Barometer Index and sub-indices results since its inception in July 2015. The latest Business Barometer Index for fall 2024 is 476, up 33 points from spring. (Courtesy of the MTSU Office of Consumer Research)

**This chart shows the positive trends for the Tennessee Business Barometer online survey and its sub-indices this fall. (Courtesy of the MTSU Office of Consumer Research)**

Other highlights

Peasley further notes:

43% of business leaders expect economic conditions to improve over the next 12 months.
49% of business leaders believe economic conditions in their industry are good and 46% expect conditions to improve over the next 12 months.

Peasley also noted that business leader concerns have diminished.

“Tennessee business leaders provided feedback on many challenges and key indicators for predicting economic growth related to inflation, staffing, etc. While the fear of a recession has increased slightly and is now over 50%, concerns about inflation, taxes, and staffing have all decreased over the last year,” he noted.

**This chart shows key concerns from business leaders surveyed in the latest Tennessee Business Barometer online survey this fall. (Courtesy of the MTSU Office of Consumer Research)**

Survey results show:

Almost 60% of business leaders said they expect their firm sales to increase this year (8.7% expect a decrease).
43.5% of business leaders said they expect their firm’s inventories to increase this year (9% expect a decrease).
44.6% of business leaders said their number of employees will increase this year, while roughly 10% said their employee count will decrease and 42% said it will stay the same.

Find the full Tennessee Business Barometer survey report and previous reports at https://bit.ly/2GZvO7U.

For more information about the MTSU Office of Consumer Research, visit www.mtsu.edu/consumer. For more information about the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry, visit www.tnchamber.org.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)