Middle Tennessee’s job growth for high-tech manufacturing and other “advanced industries” has accelerated faster than anywhere else in America, according to a new analysis from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program.
It says the Nashville area ranked first for its rate of growth, as the region saw a selection of high-skilled and high-paying jobs increase at 7 percent per year from 2013 through 2015.
Locally, jobs at auto parts manufacturing facilities make up the biggest share of the region’s 82,000 advanced industry positions.
And the fastest growth is in “management, scientific and technical consulting.” Those are firms that help businesses and governments become more efficient, often by incorporating technology.
Broadly, these industries tend to be heavy into research-and-development and the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and math.
The Brookings report says these areas are increasingly important for local economies, and finds a widening gap between cities that can or cannot attract them. In Tennessee, all four Metro areas are on the uptick.
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