Monthly Leading Economic Indicator Report Shows Future Growth for Nebraska Economy

The Leading Economic Indicator for Nebraska rose by 1.16 percent in April, economists said this week. This increase in the state indicator, which is designed to predict economic growth six months in the future, follows a decline in March.
The Leading Economic Indicator for Nebraska is calculated by faculty and students in the Department of Economics and Bureau of Business Research within the UNL College of Business Administration.

It is a composite of 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 increase in the indicator in April suggests moderate growth in the Nebraska economy this fall, said University of Nebraska-Lincoln economist Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research.

“There was broad-based improvement in the leading economic indicator during April,” he said. “Five of the six components rose during the month. The sixth indicator, manufacturing hours, was unchanged.”