Tech Report Defines Knox County Workers and Its Workforce

In October, MPC released the technical report “Knox County Labor and Commute Sheds: Where Knox County’s Workforce Lives and Where Knox County’s Residents Find Employment.” This report details where Knox County Workers live and a profile of their jobs as well as where Knox County working residents work and information about their jobs.

There are 232,815 jobs in Knox County and 192,596 resident workers, providing more jobs in Knox County than resident workers. Nearly 60 percent of jobs in Knox are filled by Knox residents. About 15 percent of jobs in Knox are filled by residents from within the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA.) About 25 percent of jobs in Knox are filled by workers living around the region, including nearly 5 percent which are filled by workers living in Nashville, Tri-Cities, and Chattanooga.

The top four employment sectors in Knox County are health care, retail trade, accommodation/food services, and educational services. These account for almost half of all Knox County jobs. Nearly 45 percent of jobs in Knox provide mid-level earnings, while about one quarter of jobs in Knox provide annual earnings greater than $40,000.

More than 70 percent of Knox County’s working residents are employed in Knox County. They are employed in the same top four employment sectors, which account for 46 percent of all jobs for Knox County workers.