UNL report: Nebraska should see economic growth through 2015

 Nebraska’s Leading Economic Indicator continued to climb in June, suggesting that the state will experience strong economic growth through the end of 2015.

The indicator, a composite of six factors that reflect economic growth produced by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has risen in five of the last six months.  

The June increase resulted from strong business expectations for sales and improvement in the labor market, said economist Eric Thompson, director of the Bureau of Business Research at UNL.   

“Respondents to the June Survey of Nebraska Business were optimistic about sales growth at their businesses over the next six months,” he said. “Businesses also were positive about job growth. Further, there was a decline in initial claims for unemployment insurance during June, another indicator of future strength in the Nebraska labor market.”

However, manufacturing hours declined in June, while the U.S. dollar increased in value.  A higher dollar creates headwinds for export -oriented businesses in agriculture and manufacturing.

The remaining components of the indicator, airline passenger counts and building permits for single-family homes, showed little change during June.

The leading economic indicator report is produced monthly by faculty and students in the Economics Department and the Bureau of Business Research in UNL’s College of Business Administration.

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