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By DON FENLEY
The Tri-Cities labor market in 2025 was a story of two economies. If you were looking for work in a hospital, a classroom, or a hotel, business was booming. But for those in boardrooms or on factory floors, the year brought a distinct chill.
Regardless of which economy you look at, there wasn’t a slump in the region’s jobs market. According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) payroll reports for 2024 and 2025, the region’s economy proved resilient. It added a net total of 1,258 jobs year-over-year. However, this growth came with a twist: the unemployment rate ticked up from 3.7% to 3.9%.
2025’s MVP: Education & Health
The undisputed engine of the Tri-Cities economy last year was Private Education and Health Services. While other sectors struggled to find footing, this super-sector added over 1,100 jobs. It nearly single-handedly kept the region in the black.
The demand for healthcare and educational services has decoupled from the broader business cycle. It’s not just growing. It’s accelerating.
Leisure Services & Retail Trade
These two sectors also posted solid gains, adding nearly 400 combined jobs. The message from consumers was clear: despite economic headwinds, people are still shopping, dining out, and traveling.
White-Collar & Industrial Slump
Conversely, the data reveals a softening in the industrial and corporate foundation of the region.
- Professional and Business Services took the hardest hit, shedding roughly 280 positions. This sector, often a bellwether for corporate confidence, pulled back significantly.
- Manufacturing and Transportation/Utilities also contracted, losing a combined 358 jobs. As supply chains normalized and national demand for goods softened compared to services, these traditional heavyweights felt the squeeze.
Here’s a breakdown of last year’s paycheck report by sector, net job changes from 2024, and the sector’s overall status on the regional level:
- Private Ed & Health Care – up 1,125 – Booming
- Leisure Services – up 200 – Growing
- Retail Trade – up 190 – Growing
- Construction – up183 – Growing
- Other Services- up183 – Growing
- Wholesale Trade – up 67 – Stable
- Information – no change – Flat
- Financial Activities – down 17 – Flat
- Government – down 33 – Flat
- Manufacturing – down 158 – Contracting
- Transportation & Utilities – down 200 – Contracting
- Professional & Business Services – down 283 – Contracting
The Tri-Cities continued its transition from a manufacturing-based jobs economy to a health care, education and service labor market. The change has been felt most in the Kingsport-Metro metro area.
Between 2000 and 2025 the Kingsport-Bristol metro area suffered 27.5% loss of good-producing jobs. That’s a loss of 10,491 jobs. On the other side of the ledger, it had a 17.5% increase in service-providing jobs. That’s a gain of 14,717 jobs.
The Johnson City metro area was positive for both categories. Since 2000, it had a 13.8% increase in goods-producing jobs – a gain of 1,417. Its service-providing sector grew 34.2% – a gain of 19,236 jobs.
According to Jobs4TN there are 5,156 job openings in NE Tenn. The median salary for the 645 jobs that are posted with salary information is $41,600.
The top three occupations that pay the most in Northeast Tennessee are:
- Podiatrist – $208,000 or more
- Physicists – $201,051
- Nurse Anesthetists – $196,817
Here’s the top three skills in demand:
- Customer Service – 1,939
- Cashier Skills – 178
- Inventory Control – 154
These are the employers with the most job openings and the number of open jobs:
- Ballad Health – 692
- Food City – 220
- ETSU – 132
- GPM Investments – 87
- Addus HomeCare – 86
- Tacala – 77
- McDonalds – 71
- Frontier Health – 63
- SCP Health – 59
- Advanced Auto Parts – 59
A closely watched, and often most complained about, data is the labor force participation rate. That’s the percentage of working-age people (16 and over) who are working or actively looking for work.
- The U.S. rate is 62.4%.
- The TN rate is 60.4%.
Here are the NE TN county rates:
- Washington – 60%
- Sullivan – 54%
- Unicoi – 53.8%
- Carter – 51.6%
- Greene – 48.5%
- Hawkins – 47.5%
- Johnson 42.6%