Nebraska economic indicator drops slightly in November

            The Leading Economic Indicator for Nebraska dropped modestly -- 0.18 percent -- in November, according to economists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Business Administration.

            This modest decline, however, followed four months of solid growth in the indicator from July through October. November's indicator is insufficient to reverse the growth trend of the previous four months -- and therefore, Nebraska's economy is expected to grow at a moderate pace in December and in the first half of 2013.

            The Leading Economic Indicator for Nebraska, which is produced by UNL's Department of Economics and the Bureau of Business Research, is a composite of six components that predict future economic growth. They are 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.

            "Single-family building permits rose sharply in November and have been a bright spot in the Nebraska economy for much of 2012," UNL economist and Bureau of Business Research director Eric Thompson said. "But the remaining five components declined modestly in the past month."

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