Heading into the holiday shopping season, Tennessee faces a somewhat disconnected economy — consumer outlook plummeting while sentiment among business leaders is rising, according to the Consumer Research Institute at Middle Tennessee State

University.

Housed within MTSU’s Jones College of Business, the Consumer Research Institute recently

issued results from its latest Tennessee Consumer Outlook Index survey, which revealed that positive sentiment plummeted to 16% statewide, the lowest score in 10 years, while negative sentiment increased to 35%.

That’s in contrast to Tennessee business leaders who responded to the latest Tennessee Business Barometer online survey, where positive sentiment among business leaders is now at an all-time high of 48% (and negative sentiment is at 11%).

In

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