The FDIC's economic research team has compiled its latest quarterly set of regional economic indicators. Among the data displayed is this chart detailing private job growth, which shows Nashville's rebound lagging the state since the bottom of the recession.
Where Middle Tennessee is ahead of the state and the country is in government employment growth — food for thought given that states and cities around the country are cutting jobs in the face of budget woes. Check out that chart and many others here [3].