Recent Trends

Cumberland University

Founded in 1842, Cumberland University offers a variety of educational, athletic and social experiences to enhance the learning opportunities of the current student body. The university has an exceptional academic program steeped in the liberal arts, business, technology, nursing and many other fields. The University’s athletic teams regularly compete for conference and national championships. Cumberland University is located in Lebanon, Tennessee, 30 miles east of Nashville.

President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Paul Stumb Provost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. C. William McKee Dean, Labry School . . . . . . . . . Dr. Chris Fuller Wilson County Trends Editor Dr. Steve Shao

Cover photo: Visualization of a portion of the Internet, 2005 (The Opte Project)

2019 Wilson County Fair, Jame E. Ward Agricultural Center, Lebanon TN (2019 Attendance = 578,131)

Recent Trends

The recent trends section of this economic report1 includes time series and cross section graphs for economic activity occurring in Wilson County using the most recent available complete public data sets, which in this issue is primarily 2018 data.

In 2018, Wilson County (WC) was home to 2,907 businesses, a 6.25% increase over the 2,736 residing in the county in the previous year 20172 . WC is today primarily a service economy. The county’s 2018 business community consisted of 462 goodsproducers (16%) and 2,445 service providers (84%).

By number of establishments, WC’s top industry supersectors in 2018 continue to be Trade, transportation & utilities3 (775 firms, or 27% of the private industry total), Professional & business services4 (506 firms, or 17.4%), and a near tie in the third spot between Construction 39 (308 firms, or 10.6%) and Leisure & hospitality5 (291 firms, or 10.1%). Also well represented in WC’s local economy for that year were financial service providers (282 firms, or 9.7%) and private education and health service providers (280 firms, or 9.6%).

Interestingly, the WC industries with the two highest annual growth rates (2017-2018) in the county were Other Services and Information. The 253 firms classified as Other Services, representing 8.7% of WC’s 2018 economy, expanded by a healthy 15.5% over the previous year. The 57 firms in the information supersector, an industry area with much future potential, representing just 2% of the local economy in 2018, grew 12%. We also note that with the minor exception of the 7 natural resource and mining establishments in 2018 (decreasing by 1 firm from 2017), the number of business establishments in WC increased from 2017 to 2018 in all other industry supersector categories. See Fig. R1.

US Department of Labor 2018 wage data for Wilson County was largely unchanged from the pre-

1 Wilson County Trends’ Spring 2019 edition presented a similar “Recent Trends” analysis using 2017 business data. 2 Due to ongoing data provider revisions (e.g., US Department of Labor), some 2017 business data reported in this WCT issue may differ slightly from data cited in WCT’s earlier Spring 2019 issue. WCT policy is to cite the most recent available numbers for all historical data years. 3 NAICS Supersector 40 (Trade, transportation, and utilities) consists of Sectors 42 (Wholesale Trade), 44-45 (Retail Trade), 48-49 (Transportation and Warehousing) and 22 (Utilities). 4 NAICS Supersector 60 (Professional and business services) consists of Sectors 54 (Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services), 55 (Management of Companies and Enterprises), and 56 (Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services). 5 NAICS Supersector 70 (Leisure & hospitality) consists of Sectors 71 (Arts, entertainment, & recreation), and 72 (Accommodation & food services).

Figure R1

Number of Business Establishments by Industry in Wilson County TN, 2017 vs 2018

Source: US Department of Labor

vious year of 2017. The 2018 average weekly wage for all WC businesses was $807. Average wages for Service-providing firms was slightly below that for all business firms at $759. Pay was higher in WC’s Goods-producing category, which averaged $1067 per week. In reviewing the average weekly wage across major WC industry groups, the highest wages in Wilson County in 2018 were paid in Supersectors 55-Financial activities ($1,262 per week), 20-Construction ($1,085/wk), 30-Manufacturing ($1,057/wk), 60-Professional & business services ($1,024/wk), and 50-Information ($901/wk). Lowest average weekly wages were paid in Supersector 70-Leisure and Hospitality at $348/wk. See Fig. R2.

In 2018, the number of persons working in Wilson County in private industry grew steadily, from 39,659 workers in January to 42,222 by December, for an average employment level for the year of 40,772. See Fig. R3.

Tennessee Department of Revenue data shows a 2018 retail sales total for Wilson County TN of $2,581,139,825, a slight 5.8% decrease from 2017. WC’s largest retail category continued to be Auto-

Figure R2

Average Weekly Wage by Industry in Wilson County TN, 2018 Source: US Department of Labor

Figure R3

Total Persons Employed in Wilson County TN, 2018 Source: US Department of Labor

Figure R4

Total Retail Sales by Category in Wilson County TN, 2018

Source: TN Dept of Revenue

Figure R5

Monthly Retail Sales in Wilson County TN, 2018 Source: TN Dept of Revenue

2019 Americana Day Music Fest, Watertown TN

Call for Business Speakers Cumberland University is seeking active or retired senior managers and executives who would be interested in serving as classroom guest speakers for our undergraduate and graduate business students. Anyone who would like to volunteer as a speaker is encouraged to email wilsoncountytrends@cumberland.edu or call (615) 547-1259 to express their interest. We always appreciate people willing to share their business experiences, insights, and knowledge with our students!

mobiles, Boats & Aircraft at $809,888,733, or 32% of the county’s 2018 retail sales total. See Fig. R4.

Monthly retail sales in Wilson County TN were relatively stable during the second half of 2018. Annual change in total retail sales from the previous year of 2017 ranged from a minor decrease of 2% in September, November and December, to an approximate 4% monthly increase in July, August and October.

In the first two quarters of 2018, however, total retail sales in WC were largely down with decreases of about 20% from February through May. The exception was January 2018 which registered a 5.75% increase over January 2017 sales levels. See Fig. R5.

WC’s 2018 retail category sales levels were somewhat mixed in comparison with sales from the previous year. 2018 sales increases over 2017 were recorded for building materials, general merchandise, food stores, and service stations. Retail categories with minor sales drops included apparel & accessories, and other retail.

Significant 2017-2018 sales decreases occurred, however, in furniture & home d´ecor ($15,525,294 in 2018 for a decrease of 21%) as well as in autos, boats & aircraft ($809,888,733 in 2018 for a decrease of 17.9%). The two digit percent decrease in the autos, boats & aircraft category is largely attributed to reduced business activity from one WC firm in this retail category. See Fig. R6.

Among sales categories for retail industries other than the autos, boats & aircraft category, food store sales ranked highest, averaging almost $35 million per month. Next were the general merchandise and other retail sales groups averaging $24.5 and $22.8 million per month, respectively. Close behind other retail sales was building materials, averaging just over $20 million per month. See Fig. R7.

Figure R6

Monthly Autos, Boats & Aircraft Sales in Wilson County TN, 2018 Source: TN Dept of Revenue

Figure R7

Monthly Retail Sales by Category in Wilson County TN, 2018 Source: TN Dept of Revenue