The Greater Memphis Chamber’s Center for Economic Competitiveness released its May 2022 Jobs Brief on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. Here are the highlights from the report:
- After setting new jobs records in March and April, Greater Memphis saw a small, 0.2% contraction of jobs in May amidst uncertainty over the national economy and inflation.
- In May, the total number of jobs in Greater Memphis remains at one of its highest levels in decades at 659,600, which is still 0.25% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
- Of the region’s top 10 job sectors, Construction continues leading the regional recovery (+10.7% from March 2020), signaling confidence in the future growth of the local economy, followed by Trade/Transportation/Utilities (+7.3%) and Business Services (+6.5%).
- The jobs recovery in the Education and Health sector continues to lag behind other sectors (-6.6% from March 2020), but education and health care providers are already taking steps to address the shortage, supported by the Greater Memphis Chamber.
Ted Townsend, who is chief economic development officer and president- and CEO-elect of the Greater Memphis Chamber, made the following statement about the report:
“Greater Memphis continues to show strong signs of recovery from the worst pandemic in modern history. At the same time, we know there are areas where we, as a region, can improve. As we work to make Memphis the No. 1 economic development destination in the nation, the Chamber is already developing the inclusive talent pipelines that new and existing businesses need to accelerate our momentum.”
