Tag: Ted Townsend

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Memphis Economy Set Record High of More Than $100B Last Year

The Pink Panda | Adobe Stock

The Memphis economy grew to a record high of $102.9 billion last year. 

Credit: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)

The Greater Memphis Chamber announced the landmark last week, calling it “impressive” and a ”historic milestone.” It was the first time the Memphis Gross Regional Product (GRP) pushed over $100 billion. GRP is the total value of all products and services sold in a metro area. 

The Memphis economy increased by nearly 6 percent from 2022 to 2023, growing by $6 billion. Over the last five years, the economy grew by 32.3 percent, which closely aligns with the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 34.1 percent.

“Breaking through the $100 billion GRP barrier is a remarkable milestone for Memphis,” said GMC president and CEO Ted Townsend. “This achievement, along with our record employment numbers, really highlights what we’ve always believed — Memphis is a place where business thrives. … We’re not just growing; we’re truly transforming our economy and opening up exciting new opportunities for our region.”

Key highlights:

• Memphis ranked 6th among peer cities in GRP in 2023.

• 5 percent average annual GRP growth over the past five years

• Record employment levels reaching 656,600 jobs

• Unemployment rate of 4.3 percent, nearly matching the national average

“This economic milestone aligns with the region’s strong employment recovery, as Memphis surpasses its pre-pandemic employment levels, showcasing the market’s vigorous recovery and ongoing growth trajectory, “ the Chamber said in a news release. 

For context, the Nashville metro, which includes the large suburb of Murfreesboro and the wealthy suburbs of Franklin and Brentwood, had a GRP of $204 million last year. The figure made it the largest economy in Tennessee, followed by Memphis. 

Credit: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)

As for the rest of the top five economies in Tennessee, the Knoxville MSA ranked third with a GRP of $64.3 billion last year. 

Credit: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)

Chattanooga’s GRP was $42.3 billion last year. 

Credit: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)

Johnson City’s GRP was $10.7 billion.  

Credit: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)
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Politics Politics Feature

Ladies First

C.J. Davis (Photo: memphispolice.org)

The victories in last week’s city council runoff elections of three women over their male opponents further dramatizes an ever-increasing trend toward female dominance in the elective positions of both city and county governments.

To recap the results:

In District 2 (East Memphis), Jerri Green defeated Scott McCormick by a total of 1,752 votes to McCormick’s 1,696. In District 3 (Whitehaven), Pearl Walker won out over Rev. James Kirkwood with 781 votes to Kirkwood’s 767. And, in District 7, incumbent
Michalyn Easter-Thomas defeated Jimmy Hassan by 966 votes to 504.

Besides reflecting the trend, the razor-thin victory margins of Green and Walker suggest a slight — but potentially crucial — prevalence of progressivism over conservatism in the council’s showdown votes to come.

Green is a Democrat who has been serving as chief policy advisor to Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, while McCormick had significant support among Republican activists; Walker, a community organizer, is an avowed progressive whose opponent was a former ranking MPD officer.

Arguably, the wins of Green and Walker somewhat offset the earlier general election victory of conservative former Councilman Philip Spinosa over progressive Meggan Wurzburg Kiel in District 5 (Midtown/East Memphis). That race had figured as a bona fide ideological showdown of sorts.

Whatever the ultimate political bent of the newly elected council, it will have a female majority of seven women and six men. That will put it in alignment of sorts with the Shelby County Commission, which has the same ratio, with a woman, Miska Clay Bibbs, serving currently as chair. And there is no doubting that the other women on the commission, activists all, are making their influence felt as well.

• Perhaps the most important official position held by a woman at the moment is that of police director, and one of the most frequently vented questions during the recent mayoral contest concerned whether C.J. Davis, who holds the job, could expect to be reappointed by the new mayor.

During the campaign, the mayoral contenders reflected a variety of opinions on the matter, most of them leaning to noncommittal statements of one kind or another.

The victor, Mayor-elect Paul Young, held to a position that he would commit himself neither to hires nor fires of major personnel.

Be that the case or not, Davis, who addressed a luncheon of the Rotary Club of Memphis last week, sounded confident in laying out an agenda for the new year — one that among other things, envisions a significant increase in the MPD’s hands-on corps of sergeants — that she would actually be the person to execute it.

Asked after her remarks about the likelihood of her continuing in office, Davis went the neither-confirm-nor-deny route but made a point of saying that she had enjoyed good relations with Young in their frequent contacts over the years.

• Davis’ speech to the Rotarians followed one to the same group last month by Greater Memphis Chamber president/CEO Ted Townsend, who made a point of downplaying the effect of recent crime outbreaks on the city’s economic development picture.

On a recent recruitment tour, looking for new business, Townsend said, “I didn’t get one question about crime. Not one. I was bracing for it. I prepared for it. I expected it.”

He acknowledged that one national headquarters company located here may have been influenced by “the C-word” and “were thinking about leaving, or wanting to go to Dallas. We fought hard. We set the value proposition, we said work with us, things will be improved. We have not given up on it. You don’t give up on it. … We should fight for Memphis and never give up.”

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Officials: Memphis Tourism Sector Makes a “Full Recovery” from Pandemic

(Photo: Memphis Tourism)

Tourism jobs have returned to pre-pandemic levels in Memphis, tourism spending is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels across the state, and Shelby County ranked behind Davidson County as the most-visited Tennessee county last year.  

Memphis Tourism and the Greater Memphis Chamber announced Monday that the leisure and hospitality industries here made a “full recovery” from job losses associated with the Covid-19 pandemic after nearly two-and-a-half years. 

The July jobs report from the Chamber’s Center for Economic Competitiveness said tourism jobs rose slightly from June and were up 1.4 percent from from February 2020. Job growth in the sector led it to a record-high 667,200 jobs here last month.   

Greater Memphis Chamber

“Positive job growth in our industry is welcome news as Memphis and Shelby County also meets and exceeds hotel room night demand seen in 2019,” said Memphis Tourism president and CEO Kevin Kane. “The biggest challenge now facing our industry on a local level is filling available openings. The Memphis destination has recovered at a rapid pace and our industry is laser-focused on showcasing how a job in tourism and hospitality can also develop into a successful career path.” 

Ted Townsend, chief economic development officer with the Chamber, said the pandemic “decimated” tourism and hospitality around the world but said it has made a “full recovery here.”

“This comeback comes as our region continues to set new records for jobs,” he said. “What that tells me is that Memphis has regained its pre-pandemic momentum and is entering a new phase of growth.” 

Tourism across the state has bounced back, too, according to state data released this week, but not back to pre-pandemic levels. Tennessee tourism generated $24.2 billion in domestic and international travel spending in 2021, according to data from U.S. Travel Association and Tourism Economics. The figure is just slightly off the record-setting $24.5 billion spent here in 2019. That number fell by 32 percent in 2020 to a record-low of $16.8 billion. 

The new figure marks the largest visitor spending nationally in Tennessee history, officials said. Travelers in the state spent an estimated $66 million per day here last years. Tourism activity here in 2021 generated $1.9 billion in state and local tax revenues and made the sector the third-highest employer in the state.  

“Tennessee is crushing it with the largest visitor spending national market share for Tennesseans in our history,” said Mark Ezell, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. “Tennessee is one of the top travel destinations in the world because of our tremendous assets including our unmatched scenic beauty, diverse cities, and small towns, as well as our world-class attractions, music, cultural, and historical sites.”

Shelby County tourism bounced back last year, too, according to the report, but not to pre-pandemic levels. Visitors here spent $3.4 billion in 2021, compared to the record $3.7 billion spent in 2019. However, spending here was up 35 percent over 2020 with a spend of $2.5 billion. 

The top three spending categories in Shelby County tourism last year were food and beverage ($1.1 billion), transportation ($826.2 million), and lodging ($544.2 million). Retail ($466.8 million) and recreation ($458.6 million) rounded out the top five.

State of Tennessee

Tourism here employed nearly 24,000 people for a total labor income of more than $1 billion. Tourism activity here yielded $276.1 million in state and local taxes. State officials said, thanks to tourism taxes generated here, each Shelby County household pays $744 less in state and local taxes. 

Davidson County (Nashville) continued to dominate tourism here, ranking first in the state’s annual report. Spending there is not back to pre-pandemic levels either but bounced back to a healthy $7.3 billion last year. The figure is nearly $4 billion more than money spent in Shelby County in the same time period.