Nebraska economic indicators rise in February

            The Leading Economic Indicator for Nebraska increased by 0.93 percent in February, indicating that the Nebraska economy will grow at a moderate rate in mid-2012. This marks the third consecutive monthly increase in the Leading Economic Indicator for Nebraska, which is produced by faculty and students in the Department of Economics and the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

            The Leading Economic Indicator is a composite of six elements that predict future economic growth: single-family housing starts, airline passengers, initial unemployment claims, manufacturing hours, the value of the U.S. dollar and business expectations gathered from the Survey of Nebraska Business.

            "Most of the increase in February was due to a decline in the value of the dollar, which will help future export activity," said UNL economist Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research.

            Rising business expectations also contributed to growth in the Leading Economic Indicator for Nebraska. Three other components -- building permits, manufacturing hours and the number of airline passengers -- changed little between January and February. Only trends in initial unemployment claims suggested slower growth. Initial unemployment claims rose on a seasonally adjusted basis between January and February.

            Thompson said that growth in the Leading Economic Indicator suggests that the state's economy will accelerate later in 2012.

            "Leading indicator data from late 2011 signaled that economic growth would be weak in Nebraska during March and April, but indicator values for December, January and February suggest moderate growth from May through August," he said.

            The full Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators report and a technical report describing the indicators are available at the College of Business Administration website, www.cba.unl.edu.