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Quarterly Business Indicators Show Surging Lincoln Economy

The Lincoln economy has been growing at a rapid pace, according to a recent analysis of economic growth in the Lincoln area. The Quarterly Business Indicators report for Lincoln shows that employment grew by 2.6% in the Lincoln Metropolitan Area between the 2nd Quarter of 2013 and the 2nd Quarter of 2014. “Strong employment growth and trends in building permits suggest that the Lincoln economy is surging ahead,” said University of Nebraska-Lincoln economist Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research. “There is also solid growth in other local economic indicators such as taxable sales.” The Quarterly Business Indicators report for Lincoln is produced for the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development by the UNL Bureau of Business Research within the UNL College of Business Administration.

The Quarterly Business Indicators report tracks growth in employment, labor force, average weekly hours, taxable sales, home sale prices, and enplanements for the Lincoln Metropolitan Area, as well as trends in key economic indicators such as unemployment rates and gasoline prices. The report notes that the unemployment rate in Lincoln is less than half of the national unemployment rate. The report also shows strong employment growth in a variety of key industries including construction, health care, and banking and other financial services. Job growth in other sectors such as manufacturing and professional, scientific, and technical services was also solid, though a bit below the national average.  Key prices changes also were a positive for the economy, with median prices for single-family homes rising by just 1.9% and gasoline prices down by 2.6%.

According to Thompson, “there were just a few pockets of weakness in the Lincoln economy over the last year, including insurance sector employment and average weekly hours.”

Read the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development Quarterly Business Indicators
Published: August 28, 2014