Newmark Expert Advises Williamson County to Focus on Labor and Connectivity to Accommodate Growth

There have been 150,000 new jobs created in Tennessee since 2011 and Williamson led the nation in job growth in 2016. Naturally, these stats lend themselves to lower-than-average unemployment (2.2 percent) but also a growing concern about meeting increasing employment demand in the future. With management jobs expected to grow 55 percent in the next ten years in Williamson, there was ample discussion on the panel around what it will take for the county to continue their upward economic trajectory.

To address this, Williamson County has been “brainstorming ways to ease and reduce commutes through recruiting, retention, and better urban planning.” An upcoming transit referendum in neighboring Nashville was part of the discussion and recent economic mass transit success stories for metros like Denver we also discussed. Kim Moore weighed in on the critical importance of adapting to the preferences of Millennial and Generation Z workers and training the underemployed, under-educated, and underserved in the community.

“Talent is everything. Labor is everything. It used to be location, location, location, now it is people”, said Kim Moore. She went on to explain the critical importance of a “talent pipeline” to attracting business and innovation (even as early as kindergarten!). “Workforce and talent are everything. Now they want to talk to the superintendent. … do they have a pipeline and is it growing?” According to Mrs. Moore, although Williamson County possesses many attractive aspects, education and a skilled workforce still must reign supreme to stay on top.

Check the articles Highlighting Mrs. Moore’s contribution to the Outlook Williamson event.

• Outlook Williamson dives into labor, transportation, real estate
• Outlook Williamson stresses workforce preference and mobility
• Outlook Williamson shows ‘talent pipeline’ crucial to economic success