Recent News

  • Gas Prices Killing Confidence (Saturday Independent, 5-13-08): "The high gas prices will probably have the result of lowering economic growth by one percent, said David Penn, director of the Business & Economic Research Center at MTSU."

  • Nashville Commuters Use Carpools, Buses to Save on Fuel Costs (Tennessean, 5-11-08): According to BERC director David Penn, "Fuel prices are going to stay high for the foreseeable future.... It's a pretty good bet it will be up for the next 5 years."

  • Health Industry Drives Job Growth (Tennessean, 5-05-08): "Even with the drop-off in hiring, health care 'is still providing quite a lot of stability,' said David Penn, an economist at Middle Tennessee State University who tracks the job market and other local economic indicators."

  • Economic indicators for the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro MSA (4/29/08)

  • Japan to Honor Nashville Man for Fostering Business Ties (Tennessean, 4-29-08): "'Japanese foreign investments have totally transformed' Tennessee's economy, said Steven Livingston, a professor and senior research associate in Middle Tennessee State University's Business and Economic Research Center."

  • Economic Update: According to BERC director David Penn, "March economic indicators for the Nashville metropolitan area show modest nonfarm employment growth, even though housing construction is plummeting and the unemployment rate is on the rise...."

  • Nashville-Area Jobless Rate Up, but More Jobs Added in March (Tennessean, 4-25-08): "'I wouldn't call it robust growth, but it's growth,' said David Penn, an economist with Middle Tennessee State University, adding that the nation's economy lost an average of 75,000 to 80,000 jobs in each of the last three months."

  • Area Job Seekers Press on Amid Mixed News (Tennessean, 4-25-08): "Despite the unemployment rate increase, the area added nearly 11,000 jobs over a year ago. That compares with national job losses of about 75,000 to 80,000 in each of the past three months, according to Middle Tennessee State University economist David Penn."

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