Nebraska’s Leading Economic Indicator fell in November by 1.33 percent, auguring slower economic growth for the state in the spring.
“The Leading Economic Indicator for Nebraska is designed to predict economic growth six months in the future,” said economist Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research. “The drop in the leading indicators suggests that economic growth will slow in Nebraska during the second quarter of 2015.”
Most components of the leading indicator pointed towards a softening economy, Thompson said. Single-family building permits and airline passenger counts declined during November, while initial unemployment claims and the value of the U.S. dollar rose. A rising U.S. dollar creates a challenging environment for export businesses in manufacturing and agriculture.
In contrast, business expectations remained positive in November. According to Thompson, “Respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Business predicted growth in sales and employment over the next six months.” Positive business expectations, and resulting investment and hiring, should help sustain growth in the Nebraska economy in 2015, he said, even as outside economic forces such as a rising dollar slow growth.
Produced by faculty and students in the Economics Department and Bureau of Business Research at UNL’s College of Business Administration, the index is a composite of six statistics.
The full Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators report and a Technical Report describing the indicators are available at the Bureau of Business Research website, http://www.bbr.unl.edu.
