More Nashville-area residents are choosing to work from home at a time when the job market is getting tighter. Davidson County saw a 54 percent increase to 14,990 people working at home from 2006 to 2007, outpacing the nation’s growth as well as that of comparable cities such as Charlotte, N.C., according to U.S. Census data.
The growth spurt was probably boosted in small measure by musicians working out of their homes rather than going to a larger studio, said Dr. Patrick Raines, dean of Belmont University’s College of Business Administration and professor of economics.
In addition, businesses that outsource work to at-home workers are often able to trim office expenses, and that may be another factor driving the trend here.
Randell Bracery of Pleasant View, Tenn., wasn’t ready to stop working when he took a buyout package from the state government and left his job in database programming.
Instead, Bracery, 56, has been working mostly from home, selling Amish jams, pickled vegetables and some office supplies. He travels to Guthrie, Ky., to pick up food products from Amish country and later drops off the products at retail stores in Pleasant View and at the Opry Mills mall here.
He takes in about $550 a month in gross sales from the retail business, or about one-sixth of what he made with the state, although he does get other monthly income through his state pension.
Photo by Exothermic.
Bill T on November 3rd, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Hey man… Love the site, great work!
Bill T
Jaclyn on November 4th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
it is really no suprise that more and more people are starting to work from home. When you think of how tight the job market is, there are at least 10 people going for one job versus smaller numbers, the high gas prices that people can no longer afford to pay, the prices of schooling for children growing higher, groceries growing higher, etc. everyone is looking for way’s to save on money and believe it or not working from home does save quite a bit of money, you save on gas, you can tax right off just about everything imaginable when you work from home, you save money on purchasing work clothes, maintenance on your vehicle and so on, it’s a better way to go for a lot of people.
CoolProducts on November 5th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Telecommunication is a widely growing trend that is being experienced globally. With the advancement of technology and the higher costs associated with work, it does not surprise me @ all to hear these stats.
cassy on November 8th, 2008 at 4:51 am
Its really depend on what work or business you have. And what kind of work or business suites you. Its your choice!