For an eighth straight month, the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index, a leading economic indicator for the nine-state region stretching from Minnesota to Arkansas, moved into growth territory.
In April of this year, COVID-19 pushed the overall index to its lowest level in 11 years. Since April, the overall index has climbed above growth neutral 50.0 for eight of the past nine months. The Business Conditions Index, which ranges between 0 and 100, climbed to a strong 67.3 from December’s healthy 64.1.
Looking ahead six months, economic optimism, as captured by the January Business Confidence Index, jumped to 53.6 from December’s weak 45.8.
The Kansas Business Conditions Index for January rose to 62.0 from 55.3 in December. The Index is a monthly survey of supply managers. Components of the economic indicator were: new orders at 72.8, production or sales at 81.3, delivery lead time at 63.3, employment at 53.3, and inventories at 39.3.
“Since bottoming in April of last year, manufacturing employment in the state has expanded by only 800 jobs for a 0.5% gain," said Ernie Goss, PhD, director of Creighton University’s Economic Forecasting Group. "Creighton’s surveys over the past several months indicate that this rate of growth will accelerate in the months ahead for the state’s manufacturing sector.”