The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Bureau of Business Research (BBR) began releasing their monthly Leading Economic Indicator-Nebraska (LEI-N) in February 2012 and their most recent report saw the second biggest increase yet in projected economic growth for the state. Dr. Eric Thompson, director of the BBR and Dr. William Walstad, John T. and Mable M. Hay Professor of Economics, work with graduate students to compile the monthly findings. For the LEI-N, there are six components that predict future economic growth: single-family building permits, airline passenger counts, initial unemployment claims, manufacturing hours, the value of the U.S. dollar and business expectations gathered from the Survey of Nebraska Business.
The LEI-N rose by 1.89% in April 2014. This increase is the third consecutive monthly improvement.
“The Nebraska economy is expected to grow moderately over the next few months and grow solidly in the second half of 2014,” said Thompson. The LEI-N is produced by faculty and students in the Department of Economics and Bureau of Business Research within the UNL College of Business Administration.
Thompson said, “There were beneficial trends in business expectations, single-family building permits, initial unemployment claims and the value of the U.S. dollars during April.” Only two components of the indicator declined. There was a slight decline in manufacturing hours and airline passenger counts.
May Leading Economic Indicator - Nebraska Report
Published: June 10, 2014