Nebraska’s Leading Economic Indicator declined during August, according to the most recent report from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Designed to predict economic activity six months into the future, the Leading Economic Indicator fell by 0.69%.

"The August decline in the indicator, when coupled with increases in June and July, suggests the Nebraska economy will grow at a modest pace through the end of the year and into early 2025," said economist Eric Thompson, department chair, K.H. Nelson College Professor of Economics and director of Bureau of Business Research.

The six components of Nebraska’s Leading Economic Indicator include business expectations, building permits for single-family homes, airline passenger counts, initial claims for unemployment insurance, the value of the U.S. dollar and manufacturing hours worked.

Two of the six indicator components registered a notable decline.

“Nebraska manufacturing hours-worked fell, suggesting weakness in the national manufacturing sector has spread to Nebraska,” said Thompson.

Building permits for single-family homes also fell in August, after a sharp increase in July.

"The August decline shows that the sharp increase in July permits was not the start of a long-term trend and that homebuilding activity remains subdued in Nebraska,” Thompson said.

The full report and a technical report describing the indicators are available at the Bureau of Business Research website, https://bbr.unl.edu.  

• BBR Complete Leading Economic Indicator Reports
• Monthly Leading Economic Indicator Report