Read the report and listen to the teleconference: http://sos.tn.gov/tennessee-quarterly-business-and-economic-indicators-reports

Strong numbers of new business filings suggest Tennessee’s economy is healthy and should continue the growth it’s experienced for 17 consecutive quarters, according to an economic report released Wednesday.

The Division of Business Services recorded more than 30,000 new entity filings in 2015. There were 7,712 new entity filings during the fourth quarter. That’s up 7.2 percent compared to the same period in 2014, suggesting the state economy will continue to grow.

The Tennessee Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report is created to provide a periodic snapshot of the state’s economy based on a variety of information, including new business data from the Division of Business Services. It’s published through a partnership with Secretary of State Tre Hargett and the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Center for Business and Economic Research.

“Our state economy continues to have a positive outlook every time we pull this data,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “It’s obvious more and more businesses are choosing Tennessee.”

Davidson County led the way among the state’s largest counties with 1,692 new filings. Shelby County was second with 1,299 filings.

There were 1,515 dissolutions filed in the fourth quarter of 2015, which is a 14.7 percent drop compared to the same time last year.

Tennessee’s unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent in December, down from 6.6 percent in December 2014. The state is still above the national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent.

The national economy continued to see slow, but steady growth during 2015Q4.