The Business Conditions Index in the nine-state Mid America region fell in October. After rising to its highest level in more than three years in June the overall reading has hovered in a range pointing to positive, but slower, growth for the overall regional economy over the next three to six months. Ernie Goss, director of Creighton University’s Economic Forecasting Group says the numbers are starting to point downward…
For the second time in the past three months, the employment index moved below the growth neutral threshold of 50.0. Goss says the job gauge fell to 43.1 from September’s much stronger 53.5 and August’s 48.7. Goss says exports are also slowing down…
Goss says there are real concerns about farm income in the region…
Goss says looking ahead six months, economic optimism, as captured by the October business confidence index, climbed to 61.2 from 59.6 in September. The Creighton Economic Forecasting Group has conducted the monthly survey of supply managers in nine states since 1994 to produce leading economic indicators of the Mid-America economy. States included in the survey are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.